Weighing of the Wands: The Stone Beyond Desire

by Scyldwyn

Summary:

Theodore Reid never considered himself 'special'. Not by any means.

Why would he, either? Just your average kid taking one day at a time like anybody else. What was strange is that as mild tempered as the boy was, trouble always seemed to draw near.

Alex Carter on the other hand knew exactly why. He just didn't know Theo well enough yet. Not that living amongst a magical family didn't help.

When two unlikely schoolmates join forces as friends, they quickly discover that being a wizard wasn't easy, like Alex had thought, nor as grand and special as Theo had.

Something dark lurks within this world of theirs, and with Voldemort defeated, who is to blame? Professor Snape, the teacher from hell? The Malfoys, a revered family with a reputation? Or perhaps Dumbledore himself, in his infinite wisdom and seemingly limitless power?

Join Alex & Theo as they join forces with familiar faces to discover what it means to be a wizard in your own right.

(I have six years ready of a planned eight! Sit back and enjoy the ride!)

Notes:

Chapter Schedule: Every other week on Sundays.

Neville and Luna are both major characters in this series, but they do not show up until Chapter Five.

I've grown up with these guys. I've watched my characters scream, laugh, cry, and I've done the same alongside them. They've grown to be a part of me. I hope in some way my writing conveys the care I've put into crafting these characters in an alternate timeline, and pushing Luna and Neville to be the very best witch and wizard they could possibly be, all while dealing with altered scenarios that the golden trio went through and more.

I truly hope you enjoy reading even half as much as I did writing, and thanks for having a look.

~Scyld

Chapter 1: How Not to Start a Summer

It's been many years since the dark wizard known as 'Voldemort' was defeated. Though peace had reigned since Voldemort's fall, few knew how close the world hovered to darkness once again.

It was only a matter of time.

The Weighing of the Wands

Theodore awoke as he would any other day and slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before sliding out of bed. He yawned, running a hand through his thick, black hair; a half-hearted attempt to tame the mess it was.

Rather unenthusiastically, he got himself dressed and proceeded out of his room to his kitchen, where he placed two slices of bread into his toaster. Whilst waiting for his breakfast, he turned on the radio that sat on the counter to listen to the local news, something he did every day. In a way, it made him feel closer to his mother.

As he stood in the kitchen waiting for his breakfast, he hadn't even realized that he'd zoned out until the unmistakable scent of burning toast wafted up into his nose. Eyes widened, he frantically popped the blackened bread out of the toaster and frowned as he set them on the plate, buttering them anyway. This had been the third time this last week it had happened, and despite not being particularly happy about it, burnt toast truly wasn't all that bad.

After finishing his breakfast, he quickly brushed his teeth and turned off the radio before heading out the door.

It was no more than a fifteen minute walk to the school from his house, and with the sun shining that morning, it was a pleasant walk, to say the least.

*****

"Gwen! Get out of the bathroom already!"

Silence.

Alex huffed. He'd already spent fifteen minutes outside the bathroom door, waiting on his younger sister. Was she really going to make him late on his last day of school? Normally, he wouldn't have cared at all, and would have even been grateful for the excuse of tardiness. But this was an opportune day for him.

He soon heard footsteps march up the stairs. Rounding the corner was his mother, Tara.

"Are you almost done yelling at your sister so I can get you two to school? I'm running late for work."

"But Mum I—" Alex protested, but she wasn't having it.

"Uhp uhp, no buts. Downstairs. Now." Tara gave her son a look of warning before she spun around, heading back downstairs.

Alex threw up his arms in indignation the moment his mother's gaze left him. He went to follow her downstairs when he heard what suspiciously sounded like a giggle come from the bathroom door. He stopped, but decided against action and continued downstairs, where he found his mother putting in her second earring.

"Got your rucksack?" Tara asked.

Alex nodded, and turned to show her.

"Gwendolyn hurry up and get down here!" She shouted up the steps. And sure enough, mere seconds later, down came Gwendolyn, skipping down the steps.

"Oh now you come out," said Alex irritably.

Gwen frowned. "I thought my hair looked funny."

Alex usually got along with Gwen, but today it seemed she felt like testing his patience.

"Alright you two, let's go, get in the car," said their mother, out of breath.

"Aw mum, it would be so cool if I showed up on my broom on the last day, can I do that pleaaaase?" Alex asked.

Tara turned and raised an eyebrow.

Alex knew the answer now. And with that, he solemnly left, and got in the car with his mother and sister.

Since they lived in seclusion, they did have to drive to school. Though, Alex knew that once they were out of the car, his mother would get to the Ministry by her own magical means.

*****

Outside Cranbrook Primary, students gathered in tightly knit packs, all of whom seemed to be excitedly discussing their plans for the summer.

Theo didn't have any particular plans, and figured his summer would be spent reading, or some such thing. Eventually, he reached the doors to the school, and sighed lightly, passing by the other students, as they entered the building.

A car door slammed nearby. Alex hopped out, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder. Gwen raced to his side as their mum offered a hasty wave before speeding off to her own busy day. The pair of them joined the throng and headed inside.

Alex and Theo, in their own separate little worlds, both found themselves funneling down the noisy school corridors, each lost in their own thoughts of summer and blissfully unaware of the day's impending trouble.

As Theo went to enter the classroom, he was shoved aside by a larger boy, with dirty blonde hair, named Vincent. Vincent had taken it into his hands to harass Theo at any opportune moment throughout all the years they've known each other. Having not expected to get shoved, Theo fell back onto the floor, sending his books clattering to the ground around him. The light above them flickered briefly.

He shot a glare at Vincent, who simply laughed and walked into the classroom, leaving Theo to pick himself, and his things up off the floor.

Alex, nearby, had just as much disdain for Vincent as anyone with half a brain. Of course, the incident was hard to miss. When no one came to help, Alex waved goodbye to his sister to go help the boy. He approached with an outstretched arm. "Hey, you alright?"

Theo was in the middle of collecting his books off the ground when he noticed the unfamiliar boy standing before him. Theo blinked at him, having not expected anyone to notice, much less step in. That wasn't how it worked in Cranbrook Primary.

Glancing up, he gave the boy a brief look of hesitation before accepting the helping hand. "I'm fine.... Thanks," he said in a low tone, once he was back to his feet.

Alex smiled and began helping him with his books. "You know, you shouldn't let someone like that get to you. One day we'll be gone, and he'll still be here scrubbing the floors like a loser."

Theo couldn't help but to crack a small smile at that. "Maybe you're right," he said, nodding lightly. "Anyway, thanks again... um...." he stammered, not sure exactly who this kid was.

"Alex. And you're Theodore, right? Reid? Well, anyways, we better get to class. It might be the last day but old Mr. Crawford is just as nasty as ever."

"Oh, um, yeah, that's me." Theo nodded, now recalling seeing Alex in class, but not having actually spoken to him until now. He glanced back toward the classroom at the mention of Mr. Crawford, and furrowed his brow, once again nodding. "Probably should," he agreed. With that, he followed Alex into the classroom.

*****

Mr. Crawford was, generally speaking, a wanker; A popular name Alex had heard his older brother, Wyatt, use quite often (Especially when he told Alex about Mr. Crawford).

It was horrible the minute class started. The door slammed shut as the old man made his way in.

"Alright you horrible little children. Get out your books. Now," He said.

For a moment, no one did anything, bristling slightly under the clear hatred they'd grown used to. Until Alex spoke up.

"But, sir, it's our last day, what could we possibly—" he began as Mr. Crawford was writing something on the board.

But Mr. Crawford shut him down.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I will not tolerate back-talk in this classroom Mr. Carter? Hm? I said... get out your books," he growled.

Reluctantly, everyone did as he asked and awaited the final lesson of the year to begin.

*****

Theo sat silently at the back of the classroom listening to Mr. Crawford drone on and on as the hours slowly trickled by like the sand in an hourglass. Upon hearing the bell ring, he almost immediately shot up out of his seat, eager to get out of the classroom and away from the miserable old man. Seeing the other students standing up, he proceeded to the cafeteria feeling pretty hungry after having only had burnt toast for breakfast.

Upon entering the cafeteria, Alex saw Gwen in the corner of the room with her head down. Since different years had their lunches separately, this was of immediate concern to him. He went to the table and sat down.

"Hey... what's up?" he said calmly.

Gwen slowly raised her head. It was clear she had been crying.

Alex felt a great anger rise up in his chest. He already had a feeling what this was about; One of Vincent's lackeys came over at that moment, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"Alright there, airhead? Hurt your feelings, did I? Didn't realize stupid people even had feelings," he teased.

Alex was not going to have it.

Shooting up, Alex got right in the boys face and grabbed him by the collar. This, in hindsight, was probably not a good idea, regarding the boy's sheer size.

"Leave. Now," he growled before shoving him.

The boy frowned, his lip curling to a sneer.

"You'll pay for that," was all he said before walking away, leaving the two siblings.

Alex sat down next to Gwen, encouraging her to stay for his lunch as well. "We'll make an excuse later, yeah?" He asked.

Gwen nodded, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Thank you, Alex," she said.

Alex nodded and gave her a half-smile. After this, Alex went and retrieved his lunch, which to his dismay happened to be chunks of chicken and peas in a thick, gluey white sauce served over a thin slice of limp bread. In other words, slop.

Theo was usually one to sit by himself, or with one or two of the classmates he was still friendly with, after distancing himself from the other students. After retrieving the rather sad looking tray of food, from the lunch line, he glanced around for somewhere to sit and noted Alex, who appeared to be sitting with a girl whom seemed to be at least a year younger than them. Whilst he was distracted, the brutish clod, known as Vincent, decided that this was an opportune time to harass Theo, yet again.

"How's it going, Theo?" Vincent questioned in a mocking tone, coming up from behind Theo, with a tray of food in his hands. "I'm surprised you even showed up today. I mean, why bother, right? It's not like anyone here actually cares. But you're used to that, right?" he spoke, with a smug expression, burned into his piggish face.

Theo frowned, but stood his ground "Why don't you just give it a rest, Vincent? It's the last day of school. Don't you have anything better to do?" he questioned, having heard all of this before.

"Hmm... lemme think about that.... No!" Vincent then slapped Theo's tray from his hands, causing it to clatter to the floor, at their feet. "Oh no, you dropped your lunch!" he feigned ignorance of his actions. "You're always making a mess of everything. Maybe you really should've stayed home, or whatever it is you do, eh, Theo?" he said, his smirk turning into a grin, as he looked Theo right in the face.

Theo had had enough of this. He couldn't go one day without something like this happening, not one. He had hoped things would at least be different on the last day. His frown turned into a deep scowl and his fists clenched, but before he could even flinch, the tray on the floor clattered and was sent flying straight into Vincent's nose like a rocket.

This caused the boy to recoil and grip his nose in pain as it started to bleed.

"You... you freak! You broke my nose!" he exclaimed dramatically, tears welling up in his eyes as he backed away.

Theo's eyes went wide. He quickly shook his head, entirely shocked.

"I didn't... it wasn't me... I..."

He had said these words before when similar occurrences had happened, but never had it been as bold as this.

Alex's head snapped to the sound of all the commotion. It was no surprise that this would happen based on what happened earlier. Anything involving Vincent was just another bomb waiting to pop. But even from across the cafeteria, Alex could see Vincent's nose bleeding.

Had Theo actually done something about it this time? He motioned for Gwen to stay put and made his way over, just as many of the other students had. Most of which were egging on the potential fight.

Theo's eyes darted around to the gathering crowd, as the situation spiraled out of control. It was all so overwhelming. There was no way out of this though, and all he could do was insist upon his innocence.

"Really, I didn't do it..." he continued to say, even as teachers began to funnel in to diffuse whatever was going on.

It seemed Vincent was about to retaliate when Alex felt the need to intervene. He came up and threw an arm out in front of Theo.

"You heard him. He didn't do anything, so just leave it, yeah?" he said, falsely calm.

But before anything else could be said a punch was thrown into the side of Alex's face by the boy from before — the one who had harassed Gwen. Alex stumbled to the side, and held his face with a hand.

"Told you you'd pay," the boy said.

Alex was just about to lunge at the child when a hand grabbed the back of his collar.

It was Mr. Crawford.

"Classroom. Now," he uttered nastily. He grabbed Theo by the collar as well. "You too," he sneered, escorting them out of the cafeteria and back to class.

As Crawford dragged Theo and Alex out of the cafeteria, Theo glared daggers at Vincent and his dense pal. Things had escalated quickly, and Theo already knew that the school would most likely inform his mother of this, which he didn't want. Not because he was afraid of getting in trouble, but because he knew his mother had better things to be worrying about.

Despite it all, he had been shocked to see Alex step in the middle of the fight even though it had nothing to do with him. Yet, even though Theo was grateful for it, now they were both in hot water.

After practically being thrown into the classroom, Crawford ordered the boys to sit. He then sat down at his desk, facing the two boys.

"Now, do you know why you two are in here?" He asked.

"No, actually, I don't." Alex started, feeling angry. "What the bloody hell was that?! You might as well have given Vincent a thumbs up and a smile!"

Crawford stood up at once, grabbing his ruler and striding over to Alex.

Alex gripped the desk as Mr. Crawford pointed the ruler directly at his face.

"You know, Mr. Carter, if you keep acting like an insolent little shit, you're going to end up like your good-for-nothing brother in St. Brutus'," he spat nastily. "Not that I don't think you'd end up there anyway," he added coldly with a curling sneer. He then turned to walk away.

"Wanker..." Alex muttered behind his back.

But Crawford wouldn't have it.

Right away, he spun around and struck Alex across the face with the ruler with a sound that seemed to echo after it left. It seemed as though Crawford wanted to say something else, but the moment he struck Alex, there was a loud crack followed by a webbing fracture in the window.

Alex gritted his teeth and clenched the desk so hard his fingers began to hurt.

"Damn kids..." muttered Crawford as he went to go see what had caused the window to crack. Concluding that it must have been a stray football, he shot Alex a nasty look and sat back down.

Theo remained silent, watching this play out. He wanted to say something in Alex's defense, but the moment he was going to speak up, the sound of the window cracking distracted him. Turning to see what had caused the sound, he spotted the fracture in the window and he furrowed his brow, wondering what might've caused it. He wasn't dumb enough to believe it was just a stray football. There were clearly no other children outside.

As Mr. Crawford went to sit back down, Theo stood up from his seat, not being able to just let Alex take the fall for this whole thing. "It wasn't Alex's fault, Mr. Crawford. It was me Vincent had a problem with. Alex was just trying to help," he insisted.

Crawford snorted. "No matter. You children are all the same. You'll both get what's coming to you when I give you both extra summer work, or perhaps — better yet — summer detention? Hmm?"

He awaited a response.

Theo simply scowled at the teacher. There was no winning with people like this. Without making a rebuttal, he sat back down in his seat and turned his gaze toward the cracked window, wishing he was outside and away from all this. He supposed he should have known better than to believe in 'different' days. They always ended the same anyhow.

Oh no, now I've done it.... Alex thought to himself. He felt that he may have just ruined the poor boy's summer, whether it was even his fault or not. He put his head down and waited for class to continue and the day to end.

And so it did. For the last couple of hours, the class continued with its revision, topped with a pop quiz for the final hour. When the final bell of the year rang, most everyone cheered and celebrated; all but the two boys who had an awful last day.

On his way out with Gwen, Alex caught Theo's eye and gave him a small, sad wave of goodbye. He then got in his mum's car and headed home to begin his summer.

Theo watched the car drive off before turning and proceeding down the sidewalk, wondering just what he had gotten himself into and what awaited him when he got home. He figured his mother wouldn't be around when he got to the house, as was the case any other day.

Chapter 2: The Man from the Ministry

Summary:

Arthur Weasley arrives on Claudia Reid's doorstep with proof that her son isn't just "acting out". Elsewhere, a pretentious owl and persistent Niffler turns Alex's bad day into a good one.

Notes:

Hello everyone! I've been excitedly waiting to post today! I figured that as this chapter and the next are very short, I would treat you all to a DOUBLE drop today, meaning Chapter 3 will shortly follow after I review tags and think of a summary. Both chapters are around 2K words today so expect a lighter read! I hope you enjoy!

Arthur Weasley had been filling out an incident report in his office regarding a particularly nasty raid, when Myra Curio, head of Muggle Liaison, walked in. 

 

Today had already been a bit busy in the Muggle Liaison Department. However, Arthur looked up and gave a smile. "Ah, Myra, what can I do for you?"

 

Myra leaned on his desk. "Well, we've got another Muggle-born, and you're next on the list to go out and meet with the family," she explained.

 

Arthur wiped the sweat off his brow, which he furrowed. "Hold on... the Muggle school year's barely ended, are you sure I should go out this early?" Arthur inquired. "You know I've been trying to move to Improper Use of—"

 

Myra put up her hands. "I've got my orders, Arthur, and so have you." She leaned in, and whispered, "I'd get there before the boy gets home, meet his mum."

 

Arthur sighed. "Right, on it."

 

With that, he got up and headed for the door. 

 

"Forgetting something?" Myra said behind him, holding out a dossier and an invitation letter to Hogwarts.

 

"Wha— oh, right," Arthur said sheepishly, spotting the contents in Myra's hand as his face went red. "Thanks." 

 

And then, with profile and letter in hand, Arthur departed.

 

*****

 

CRACK

 

Perhaps too late, Arthur Weasley wondered if it had been such a good idea to Apparate directly into a Muggle village. Although, no one seemed to notice. Indeed, it was a quiet little side road. Arthur drew from his jacket the boy's profile.

 

"Theodore Bennett Reid" it read, with an address to follow. Luckily, it was just around the corner, and so, Arthur hastily made his way over. Moments later, he arrived and knocked on the door, awaiting a response.

 

Meanwhile, Claudia, who had just walked in through the front door herself, set her handbag down on the kitchen counter and turned her head upon hearing the knock at the door. Raising her brow, she walked over, wondering who might be making a house call. 

 

"Yes?" she inquired, answering the door and seeing the ginger-haired man standing on the doorstep.

 

Arthur gave a weak smile. He knew this didn't always go so well. 

 

"Miss Reid, is it? Arthur Weasley. I'm here regarding your son, Theodore," he said, hoping not to sound too strange.

 

Claudia's expression immediately dropped, as if this sort of thing had already happened once before. "Oh... well, please, come in...."

Claudia gave a clearly forced smile. She motioned for the man to enter her home.

 

"Would you like anything to drink? Tea, perhaps?" she asked, obviously set on edge by the presumed teacher from Theo's school as she made her way over to the kitchen.

 

Arthur made his way in and looked around, casting his eyes this way and that, eyes wide in astonishment. Ever since he was a child, he had always been fascinated with just about every aspect of the Muggle world, though he knew that he had to keep his cool for now. 

 

"Oh yes, uhm, tea would be great. Er... no sugar, please."

 

"Yes, of course." Claudia gave a light nod, taking a box of Earl Grey from the cupboard, and proceeding to fill the teapot with water, before setting it on the stove. 

 

"Have a seat wherever you would like," she said, making a motion toward the sofa. She began to wonder why it was that this man hadn't informed her as to what it was her son had done to make this visit necessary. "It is the end of the school year, is it not? Is this visit truly necessary?"

 

Arthur took the invitation to sit down, and did so at the end of the sofa. He thought for a moment. 

 

"Well... you see... I'm with the Ministry... the Ministry of Magic..." he let the words hang for a brief moment before continuing, "...and, well, frankly, I think your son would make a fine addition to a school we have for people like him."

 

Arthur finished, and bit his lip, expecting disbelief from the poor woman.

 

With that, there was a shattering sound as Claudia was startled, dropping a teacup onto the kitchen floor. 

 

"W-what did you say?" she asked, utterly confused by Arthur's sudden statement. "Is this some kind of joke? What do you mean by people like him?" she questioned, taking offense to this. It was as if Arthur was insinuating her son needed some form of special treatment, or some such thing.

 

Arthur sighed and stood up, pulling out a long stick from his pocket. He pointed it at the now broken teacup. 

 

"Reparo." 

 

The shattered cup gracefully floated through the air, its jagged pieces stitching back together in puzzle-like fashion, landing on the counter in perfect condition as if it had just been bought. Arthur pondered his next move. 

 

"Have you noticed anything... unexplainable, happen in his presence when his emotions may be running high?" 

 

Claudia's eyes went as wide as saucers as the teacup levitated and sealed itself back into place.

 

"I-I... I... well...." she stammered, trying but failing to compose herself through her obvious shock. "There have been... incidents... lately. At his school. The teachers told me he was just acting out, but Theo is a good boy. My son isn't a troublemaker," she said, slowly but surely regaining her composure, still cautiously eyeing the teacup that sat innocently on the countertop.

 

"Oh I'm sure he's a good egg. These things tend to happen in wizard children. Especially Muggle‐born children," reassured Arthur.

 

"M-muggle-born...?" Claudia was still trying to arrange this entire thing in her mind. Just then, the teapot on the stove went off, making a high-pitched whistling sound.

 

At that same moment, Theo walked in through the front door. However, he immediately came to a halt upon seeing that his mother was home. Not only that, but some strange man was in his house. 

 

Theo's first thought was that this man had something to do with what had happened at school earlier. "Wait, mum, I can explain..." he started, his heart pounding in his chest as he stepped forward.

 

Arthur got up and gave a warm smile. "Ah, there he is! Arthur Weasley, Ministry of Magic," he said, extending his arm for a handshake. He had momentarily forgotten that the boy would have no idea what he was talking about.

 

"Ah... right...." He retracted his hand and adjusted his glasses nervously. "I know this is a bit unusual, but I believe we have something important to discuss with your mother here, Theodore. It might be best if you have a seat."

 

Theo's mouth hung open slightly as he looked at the man, confusion etched onto his face. Glancing to his mother, he saw her slowly nod. Without a word, he made his way over to the armchair across from the sofa and took a seat.

 

Meanwhile, Claudia proceeded to get the pot off the stove and set to pouring the tea into three cups before setting them and the kettle on a tray, and brought it over to the living room. She set a cup in front of Arthur and took one for herself before taking a seat on the sofa, still registering this all in her head.

 

Arthur took the time to take a sip of tea before continuing. He then took a letter from his jacket and handed it to Theo.

 

"I think you'll want to read that before we continue here," he said, inclining his head.

 

Theo curiously took the letter and inspected the envelope, noting the strange looking crest on the front. Carefully, he opened the letter and took out the piece of parchment from inside. 

 

Dear Mr. Reid, 

 

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,

 

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

 

Theo finished reading before returning his gaze to Arthur, looking even more puzzled than before. 

 

"I've been... accepted? Why?" Theo once again glanced to his mother for any sign of understanding as to what was going on.

 

"Well, Mr. Reid. Might I ask you what happened today at lunch? I presume you might remember something like that," said Arthur, giving Theo a knowing look. He continued. "Well, this school would not only educate you, but also provide a safe place for you to harness the magic you have within, allowing you to control it. With me so far?"

 

Theo's eyes widened upon hearing Arthur mention the incident at lunch. How could he possibly know about that if the school hadn't sent him? However, hearing all of this now, as strange as it sounded, made something click in his head. Everything slowly started to make sense. He nodded slowly, searching for something to say. 

 

"So... I'm a... wizard? All those things that happened really were because of me? Because of... because of magic...? That can't be. There's no such thing...." He shook his head, his more logical side trying to convince him this was some sort of mistake, or joke.

 

Arthur pulled out his magical stick once more, giving Theo a challenging look. "Oh?"

 

Arthur pointed the wand at Theo, and with a neat flourish, ripped the letter from his hands, folded it up, put it back in the envelope, and sealed it shut before placing it back on his lap. 

 

Arthur put his wand away and leaned back in his seat, taking another sip of tea.

 

Much like his mother's own reaction to seeing magic for the first time, Theo's jaw dropped. All he could do was stare in astonishment.

 

Seeing her son's expression, Claudia decided to speak up. "Theo, dear... I... I think Mr. Weasley is telling the truth. You should hear him out." She gave a small nod towards her son. If this was truly real, beyond a shadow of a doubt, and her son could benefit from this, then she would try her best to understand it.

 

"Well, son, all I can say is this," began Arthur. "Should you decide you are interested, all you must do is simply place this letter on your doorstep by the end of July, and an owl will find its way to Hogwarts." 

 

Arthur offered a smile and got up, ready to leave. 

 

"Thank you for the tea, Miss Reid," he said kindly. He then headed towards the door. "Oh! Yes, also...." He pulled out his wand once more, and tapped the door a few times. "Since I've been assigned to you, should you ever need any help at all regarding Hogwarts, or else navigating our world otherwise, simply step out the door, close it, turn around and knock three times. I'll be there to help." He smiled and nodded once. "Have a pleasant summer, Theodore." 

 

With that, the ginger man left the Reid household. The last sound from him was a loud CRACK just beyond the door.

 

Theo, still unsure about all of this but understandably intrigued, watched as the ginger-haired man left. Theo turned to his mother, expecting her to say something.

 

"What do you think I should do, mum?" he asked.

 

Claudia simply stood up, gathered the teacups, and took the tray back over to the kitchen before speaking. 

 

"This is... a lot to consider. I want what's best for you, Theo, and if what that man said really is true, as hard as it is to believe, then perhaps that *is* what's best for you. But, I can understand if you want to continue attending Cranbrook, and if that's what you want, I will support you. Perhaps we both need time to think this over, yeah?" Of course, she had said this taking numerous things into consideration as she answered her son's question. Surprisingly, she was taking this all quite well, considering the implications.

 

*****

 

After about fifteen minutes of scolding from his mother, Alex was about ready to get in his room and lie down. 

 

That's what I get for sticking up for someone I guess...

 

Once inside, he kicked off his shoes and headed upstairs to his room. The moment he closed his door, a big, hairy something latched on to his shoulder and began licking his face furiously. Grabbing it by the scruff of its neck, he found that it was Bandit, his young Niffler. He smiled weakly. 

 

"Not now, boy," he huffed, tossing the Niffler onto the end of his bed. A few Sickles popped out of his pouch and the little creature began frantically trying to stuff them back in.

 

Slumped, Alex crashed on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

 

At least that's the last I'm going to see of that god-awful place.

 

He reached over and pushed open the window while Bandit came up and nestled onto his chest, biting at one of the Sickles. Alex was just about to rest his eyes when something flew through the window, and smacked him square in the face. 

 

"Ach!" He exclaimed. "What the—" he began, reaching for what hit him. It was an envelope. 

 

Then it really hit him. His eyes lit up as realization flooded him. He tore open the letter and scoured the paper twice over, the Hogwarts crest at the bottom filling his heart with joy.

 

He immediately scrawled a letter back and gave it to the owl that had been sitting there, probably expecting a reward. When it didn't get one, it hooted irritably and flew off. 

 

All of the day's gloom melted away. All he had to look forward to now was his first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Chapter 3: Breakfast at the Burrow

Summary:

Theo answers Arthur's three-knock offer and steps into another world.

The summer had gone by in the blink of an eye. After a few weeks of consideration and conversation between himself and his mother, Theo was pulled from Cranbrook Primary. Following Arthur Weasley's instructions, Theo had left the letter of recommendation on his front porch. Theo was then able to spend the rest of his summer enjoying his time as anticipation boiled up inside him.

 

More than once, Theo had snuck into the backyard with a stick he'd found under a tree. Mimicking Arthur's swish-and-flick motion from before, he'd point at various pebbles, twigs, and blades of grass and whisper words he thought might be spells.

 

“Abracadabra!” he barked at a spider in the garden, attempting to make it disappear.

 

“Alakazam!” He said sharply, attempting to blast Vincent off his feet from behind at the park. 

 

“Open sesame,” he whispered at his mother's car door on their way to the Co-Op. 

 

Of course, none of these attempts had succeeded, and he eventually supposed he ought to actually learn something before he killed someone by mistake.

 

Persistent spiders, unbothered bullies, and unopened doors weren't the only events of his summer, however. Indeed, he had spent much of it reading through any book in his collection that involved magic in any way. From Lord of the Rings to The Chronicles of Narnia, he even went so far as to pick up an old magician’s manual and fumbled through an incomplete stack of cards. For the first time ever, he looked forward to summer being over.

 

That morning on the first of September, Theo rolled onto his side, his eyes slowly opening as he awoke. Sluggishly, he got up with a stretch and a yawn, going through the motions of his daily routine. That is, until he realized what day it was. His heart skipped a beat before he quickly threw on some jeans, a t-shirt and a sweater, before running out of his room.

 

Suddenly, he halted, finding himself standing in his living room when he realized something else. 

 

What exactly was he supposed to do?

 

His mother had left him some money on the kitchen counter for his school supplies, but now that he thought about it... where was he supposed to go to find all these things?

 

After pocketing the money his mother left for him, he meandered around his house trying to come up with an idea. It was then that a lightbulb went off in his head, and he remembered what Mr. Weasley had told him.

As ridiculous as it sounded, he slipped on his shoes and walked out to the front porch. As instructed, he closed the door behind him, turned around, and knocked three times.

 

To Theo's surprise, his own door swung open to reveal none other than Arthur Weasley.

 

"Ah, Theodore! Come, come. I thought you might need help today." Arthur gestured for him to come inside.

 

Theo had half expected nothing to happen, but when it did, his eyes lit up once again, astonished by the show of magic. Hesitantly, he stepped in through the door and looked around the house curiously, hints of baking bread and wood smoke filling his nostrils. This was not his home any longer.

 

Instead of the contemporary, empty feeling of his own home, a cozy kitchen stretched out before him, sunlit and chaotic in the best possible way. The dining area was lined with mismatched chairs with red-haired children filling most of them. A table that sat in the center of it all looked as if it had been expanded at least twice too many times, bowing under its own weight.

 

Theo approached the ginger-haired man. 

"Um... hello again.... I was wondering about the list of school supplies. Where do I... you know... get them?"

 

Arthur chuckled. "Everything will be explained soon. You'll be coming with us. I've got a son who'll be joining you this year, so maybe you have a friendly face on your first day, eh? Have you had breakfast? We were just about to eat before heading out."

 

Theo shook his head. "Oh, um, no sir, I haven't." In his haste to get ready, he'd completely forgotten to eat breakfast.

 

"Well that's alright then, we've always got an extra seat at the Weasleys. Welcome to the Burrow," said Arthur with a warm smile, gesturing Theo further into the kitchen.

 

As Theo followed Arthur, he took a good look around. Every surface seemed to have a story: a whistling teapot leaping off the stove and pouring cups of tea all on its own, a clock on the wall with far too many hands and no numbers at all, and a pile of well-worn shoes littering the bottom of the stairs, as if the entire family had dropped them there mid-chase. The scent of something baking lingered in the air, warm and inviting, mixing with the faintest hint of smoke from a long-suffering fireplace.

 

"You can sit next to Ron, the youngest boy," said Arthur, pointing to a space between a befreckled boy no older than Theo laughing at a pair of stocky twins, and a quiet-seeming girl whose hair covered most of her face. Next to the twins sat an older, curly-haired boy, who had his face buried in a newspaper.

 

Arthur then took his seat at the end of the table. He gestured to Theo. "Everyone, this is Theodore Reid. He will be joining us today for his first day at Hogwarts. He comes from a Muggle family," he explained, looking quite excited to hear more.

 

Theo studied the family for a brief moment, noting that they all shared very distinguishing features. "Thank you," he said, nodding lightly to Mr. Weasley before proceeding over to the empty seat. The boy, Ron, was busy stuffing his face full of food.

 

"Oh, well, this really must be a big day for you, eh, dear?" said the short, plump, kindly-looking woman bustling around the kitchen, presumably Arthur's wife. She smiled toward Theo. "Don't be shy. There's plenty to eat," she said, making a motion to the spread of delicious home-cooked food on the table. "Arthur, haven't you introduced everyone yet?"

 

"Oh! Blimey, yes, sorry Theo," said Mr. Weasley, dabbing yolk from the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "Well, this is my wife of course, Molly. The mother of my children and the love of my life—"

 

"That's enough, Arthur," said Molly sternly, before giving Theo a warm smile.

 

Arthur gestured to the boy behind the newspaper. "This here is Percy, then the twins, Fred and George—"

 

"Ah, but which one is which?" said the twin on the left with a raised bro and half-cocked smile.

 

"Careful. Get it wrong, and we'll hate you forever," said the other one in mock seriousness.

 

Arthur rolled his eyes and waved the two boys off before continuing with the boy next to Theo. "Of course, that's Ronald, and on your other side there is our youngest, Ginny."

 

"Are you the boy who hit the other boy with a lunch tray?" asked Ginny quietly, looking up at Theo, apparently not able to help but be nosey.

 

Fred laughed. "That was brilliant, that was."

 

"Wait, I didn't—!" Theo exclaimed, before trailing off and sighing lightly. "Yeah, that was me...." He nodded gently, looking down in shame.

 

"Nothing to be ashamed of. Kid probably deserved it," chimed George, nodding his head in agreement with his twin.

 

"Now, now, we mustn't pester the poor boy," scolded Molly lightly, shaking her head.

 

"Yes, yes," agreed Arthur. "Enough with the silly questions. Now... Theo... what is the exact function of a rubber duck?"

 

Theo gave Arthur a quizzical look. "I... don't think they really have a function, sir..." he responded, not entirely sure what that question had to do with anything.

 

"Oh, you..." chided Molly, waving her husband off. "You're no better than your children, Arthur," she said, smiling lightly nonetheless.

 

Just then, a clock in the living room chimed, signifying that it had just turned seven. "It's about that time, Arthur. We have a lot to do today," said Molly, suddenly standing up from the table. "Up you get now, everybody," she said, motioning for everyone to stand.

 

"Right, you heard the boss! Everyone, get your things. Molly dear, make sure they're ready and I'll get the Floo Powder sorted," said Arthur, folding his own newspaper and getting up.

 

"Of course, of course," nodded Molly as the children dispersed to gather their things. All but Theo, who stood there not knowing what to do with himself.

 

Seeing this, Molly walked over, and put her arm around the boy's shoulder. "You can wait right over here, Theo." Molly escorted him to the fireplace and gave his shoulder a gentle pat. "The others will be down shortly." She offered a light smile before walking off to make sure the kids had everything they needed.

 

"What's... Floo Powder, Mr. Weasley?" Theo asked, looking over to the man as he stood by the fireplace.

 

"Oh, of course. Well, basically, it's a form of transportation used by us wizarding folk. It's best if we show you how it works first, yeah?" suggested Arthur.

 

Theo nodded softly, yet again intrigued by all the new things he was learning. 

 

As he waited, his eyes bounced from place to place. Knitting needles worked through a sweater with no hands to guide them. He could have sworn small eyes had just been peering at him through the garden window, and he was convinced he had heard a painting giggle at him as he passed. There was a significant clutter to the place, but not one that made him uncomfortable. Rather, it felt lived-in, almost alive, as if the house itself was as much a member of the Weasley family as any one of the red-headed children running around the place.

 

He tried to imagine what his mother would think of all this. Would she be horrified at the lack of order? Or would she be charmed by the organized chaos, the century-old curtains, and the chipped plates stacked in the sink, cleaning themselves?

 

It didn't take long before Molly returned to the living room, followed by the others. "I'd say we're all set to go," she said, walking over to join her husband by the fireplace.

 

"Alright everyone, line up. Percy, you first," directed Arthur.

 

The tall boy with curly hair wordlessly made his way to the fireplace. Before stepping in, he grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and shouted, "Leaky Cauldron!" He then dropped the Floo Powder, and, going up in flames, disappeared entirely.

 

The same went for Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and finally Molly, leaving Theo and Arthur. "Right, so do you kind of understand now? You go first, and I'll be right behind to make sure you've gotten there alright. Molly and the kids will be right there on the other side waiting for you, okay?" He said reassuringly, holding out the pot of Floo Powder.

 

Theo's eyes went wide as the green flames engulfed each and every one of the Weasleys, all of them vanishing before his eyes. He gave a light nod towards Arthur before stepping forward and taking a handful of the powder.

 

"I think I got it," he said, stepping into the fireplace. He took a breath, before extending his hand. "Leaky Cauldron!" he exclaimed, throwing the powder down as he spoke.

 

Suddenly, Theo found himself hurtling away from the Burrow at impossible speeds. It felt as if the world had turned upside down. He was almost certain his stomach had been left behind as he was swallowed by warm, green flames. Then, just as abruptly, his feet found solid ground and he found himself standing, dazed but unharmed, in a dingy pub alongside the other Weasleys.

 

"Blimey, you actually did it on your first try!" exclaimed Ron, astonished.

 

"Guess I did, huh?" replied Theo with a light chuckle. He was just surprised that he hadn't screwed something up... or accidentally set himself on fire.

 

Notes:

Chapter 4 is going to be longer! I hope you all enjoyed the double drop, and stay tuned for Theo's discovery of the world that has remained hidden to him until now! Expect descriptors and scenes to flow from a Muggle‐born's perspective :)

Chapter 4: The Hidden Market

Summary:

Diagon Alley awaits, but the magic of discovery comes with naivety of its own. Toppled chairs, cracked windows, and nippy owls are only the beginning for Alex and Theo.

Theo's summer was not the only one that was short. 

 

After Alex's older brother and sister, Wyatt and Makayla, came home from Hogwarts, it became very easy to pass the time. Alex was able to achieve this mostly by flying around on his Cleansweep and playing catch with Wyatt, punting gnomes over the bushes with Gwen, or listening to music with Makayla as she let him look in on her summer work every now and then. 

 

All in all, it was a great summer. But Alex was more than ready to get the ball rolling. By the time he bounded down the stairs that day, the family was preparing the fireplace, luggage in hand. 

 

"All ready there, Alex?" asked his dad, Anthony, buttoning up his blazer. 

 

Alex nodded happily. "Yes, sir!"

 

His father nodded back, a smile playing on his own lips. "Alright, well, if we're all ready then, let's get going. We've got shopping to do, eh?" 

 

Anthony pulled out his wand and casually waved it at the fireplace. "Engorgio," he muttered. The fireplace then grew to a size that could fit an adult. "Tara, you know the drill." Anthony stooped and kissed her on the cheek. He then took a fistful of Floo Powder from the pot and stepped into the fireplace before shouting, "Leaky Cauldron!" 

 

Anthony dropped the Floo Powder. Going up in green flames, he disappeared. The same went for Wyatt, then Makayla. 

 

Then, it was Alex's turn. He grabbed some Floo Powder and stepped into the fireplace with his things. 

 

"Leaky Cauldr-ach!" Inadvertently inhaling plume of ash, Alex dropped the Floo Powder, and he was ripped from his home in a whirlpool of green fire. 

 

The world around him spun, and for just a moment, he lost all sense of direction. That was, until his back hit the floor and he shot out of the fireplace inside the Leaky Cauldron at high speed — straight into a pyramid of stacked chairs. The mountain of seating collapsed on top of him in a heap.

 

After Wyatt was done laughing hysterically, he helped Alex up. The barkeep mumbled something irritable and righted the stack with a flick of his wand.

 

"What in the bloody hell happened to you, mate?" Wyatt laughed.  

 

"Oh, leave it alone..." muttered Alex, brushing himself off in a huff.

 

Upon looking around, he took notice of another family entering the building. However, disbelief washed over him when a familiar face came through the Floo Network. 

 

"No way...."

 

He walked up to the boy who had his back turned, facing towards another boy of similar age. "Theo...?" called Alex hesitantly.

 

The boy, having heard a strangely familiar voice say his name, turned to see who it was. Theo's eyes widened yet again, having not expected to see Alex of all people. 

 

"Alex? What... what are you doing here?" he questioned, shocked to see someone from his old school. But, he had to admit — he was glad it turned out to be him, and not someone else.

 

Alex punched Theo lightly on the arm. "Aw, mate you have no idea! I thought I had you put on Crawford's bad list for good!"

 

Just then, Alex's father came over. "You know this boy, Alex?"

 

"Oh yeah, he's from my old school," explained Alex, unable to wipe the grin off his face. "That's the boy I helped! And to think, you grounded me for a week!"

 

There was a roar of flames nearby, and Arthur finally stepped through the fire. Seeing Anthony first, he seemed to have immediately recognized him. 

 

"Ah, hello Anthony! First day for your son, too?"

 

 "Yep." Anthony patted Alex's shoulder and nodded towards Theo. "I see you're in charge of a Muggle-born this time around, Arthur? Maybe you three would like to accompany Alex and I in getting their wands?"

 

Arthur smiled. "That'd be splendid." He turned to his wife. "Molly, are you going to be okay with the others? Perhaps you can stick around Tara and her children as well, yeah? We can meet up at Flourish and Blotts." 

 

"That'd be lovely," nodded Molly, smiling towards the Carter family. "Come along, children!" She motioned for the group to follow along.

 

Theo couldn't believe it. All that time, someone like him had been right under his nose — without him even realizing it. Then again, he never even knew that there were people like him to begin with. 

 

"I certainly didn't expect to see you here, Alex. But then again, I'd rather it be you than Vincent," he remarked with a light smile toward the boy. He glanced up toward Mr. Weasley and Alex's father, pondering this speak of wands, and 'Muggle-borns'. "What exactly is a Muggle? I keep hearing that word, but no one's told me what that means to be Muggle-born." He looked to Alex, hoping for an answer to his question.

 

"It's a word we use to call non-magic folk," explained Alex, happy to be the helpful and knowledgeable one. "A Muggle-born is a witch or wizard who has non-magic parents." 

 

"Hm, suppose that makes sense." Theo nodded in understanding, instantly thinking of all the people he'd met in his life. He wondered just how many were magic folk, like Alex and his family, or the Weasleys.

 

"Alright boys, let's get a move on, then. Lots to buy!" Anthony led everyone to a storage closet, which was mostly empty. He pulled out his wand and tapped some of the bricks on the far wall. There was some rumbling before the bricks started to shift and move, creating a passageway to a large market, closed off from the outside world. 

 

Alex looked to Theo and smiled. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."  

 

As they stepped through the passageway into the market district, Theo looked around in amazement. His eyes traveled from the plethora of shops to the hustle and bustle of all the people milling around. It was unlike any shopping center he'd ever been to. 

 

The cobbled streets glimmered in the sun like spilled starlight. Shopfronts leaned at such impossible angles, Theo was amazed they didn't fall over right then and there. The windows he passed were more bizarre than the structural integrity. Some of them rattled with caged owls or screeching cats. Others featured mysterious devices, cauldrons, or phials of liquid. 

 

Every other storefront appeared to be advertising contents within. A self-writing chalkboard outside Scribulus Writing Instruments read 'Buy One Get One Free Self-Writing Quill!' before erasing itself and replacing that with 'Disappearing Ink — When Privacy Matters Most — Try Today!'

 

"Where do we start?" Theo asked, nearly overwhelmed by all of it.

 

"Ooh, dad, let's get our wands, yeah?" Alex suggested, bouncing in excitement. 

 

Arthur chimed in. "Well, actually, as I understand, Theodore doesn't have any wizarding money yet. Have you got any money on you now, son?"

 

"Oh, um, here...." Theo reached in, taking the money from his pocket and showing it to Arthur. It was a reasonable amount in Muggle money, but it evidently wasn't wizarding money. "Will this not do?" he asked, furrowing his brow slightly.

 

Arthur chuckled lightly. "No, no.... In the wizarding world, we have our own currency — all goblin made, too, so you can't have counterfeit." He gave Theo a wink. "We'll head over to Gringotts bank and get your money exchanged. Should you ever decide you want a safe place to store anything — there's no place safer than Gringotts. Well, except maybe Hogwarts."

 

"Alright..." Theo slowly gave a nod to Arthur, glad to hear he could at least exchange his money. Though, as he followed, he turned to Alex, once again. "Goblins...?"

 

"Uhh... it's best if you see for yourself," said Alex simply. 

 

On their way to Gringotts, they passed by many other different stores than had been seen when Theo first walked in. A black and brass storefront labeled Florean Fortescue's appeared to be belching curls of cinnamon-smelling vapor into the air surrounding it. Nearby, across the street from that, stood a brick and mortar storefront promising Bernie Ball's Fireworks, where the window displays safely exploded in brilliant colors and ultra-realistic, animated shapes for all that passed by. Once or twice Theo caught himself looking at a store named Gambol and Jape's Wizarding Joke Shop. He could only imagine what kind of hijinks wizards got up to when magic was involved.

 

"...so basically, in Muggle terms, Quidditch is basically flying football, but... better," finished Alex after having passed Quality Quidditch Supplies. He then gestured to the massive, precarious-looking building at the end of the main street. It seemed as though the thick marble pillars were just barely holding the rest of it up. "And this is Gringotts Bank. Now, my dad is going to take me to our vault so I can get some money, but we'll meet back out here, yeah?" 

 

"See you then," smiled Theo, nodding to Alex. 

 

Alex returned the smile with a grin of his own and went on ahead with his father, leaving Theo with Arthur, who turned to him.

 

"Ready then?" asked Arthur.

 

Theo nodded happily. "Ready." 

 

He was already learning so much about this wizarding world — more than he could've ever imagined. Little did he know, he hadn't even begun to scratch the surface.

 

"Right, follow me then." Arthur spun around and strode ahead of Theo, leading him inside.

 

It was magnificent, if not overwhelmingly so. The moment Theo crossed the threshold, the world shrank into polished marble and hushed business. Torch brackets climbed the walls like creeping vines, their blue-white flames throwing quivering reflections across a floor so glossy Theo could see himself double. Each chandelier that hung from the cavernous ceiling shed cones of light over rows of high, narrow counters. 

 

Behind these counters perched some of the most odd-looking people Theo had ever encountered. Some lean, some stout, they were all short, pointy-eared, long-fingered fellows. Each of them were impeccably suited, dressed in slick black pants, shiny brown shoes and charcoal waistcoats. Theo supposed these must be the Goblins.

 

The lot of them were entirely unbothered by the two's presence. They were all busy; some were, of course, assisting other customers in low, serious tones, making it impossible to hear from where Theo was standing. Others were balancing coins in enormous, brass scales, or else scribbling away on important paperwork with their long white quills.

 

Beside him, Arthur cleared his throat, breaking the spell. "Nearest counter should do."

 

He quickly found the nearest goblin and approached with Theo. The goblin did not look up from whatever he was doing, which was impossible to see from their angle. 

 

Arthur coughed. The goblin looked up slowly, disapprovingly. "May I help you?"

 

"Hi, yes, this boy here needs to exchange some Muggle money. Could you help us?" 

 

The goblin gave a deliberate blink, then sat forward, leaning over the counter to peer down at Theo. "Your name?" asked the goblin, seemingly with disdain.

 

Theo gave the goblin a curious look, but upon hearing the tone in the strange creature's voice, he gulped lightly before speaking up. "Theodore Reid," he spoke, offering his money to the goblin, as he wasn't entirely sure what else to do with it.

 

The goblin raised an eyebrow, as if he thought it was clear that he hadn't asked to see the money yet. Nonetheless, he sighed and began to count it. Soon after, the goblin took various coins, put them in a rough, brown sack and dropped it on the counter. 

 

The goblin turned away, coldly waving them off. "Now if that'll be all, I'm busy."

 

Although put off, Arthur didn't argue and instead took the bag, handing it to Theo. "Alright, well that's all. Let's wait outside for Anthony and his son, then."

 

Theo accepted the pouch of coins, and nodded to Arthur, feeling eager to see what else this place had in store now that he actually had some tangible money. 

 

As he followed Arthur out of Gringotts, he began to wonder why the goblin seemed so cold, but decided not to ask as he figured people might get annoyed by all the constant questions.

 

*****

 

Meanwhile, hundreds of feet below, Alex had gotten to ride the Gringotts trolley for the very first time, all the way down to the Carter vault, and he hadn't been more terrified in his life. But, for him at least, it was cool to see what it was really like down there. He supposed it must be similar to what a Muggle rollercoaster might be like. 

 

Shortly after, Alex and his father had both returned to the surface and walked out, now stocked with the money they needed. Alex quickly spotted Arthur and Theo. 

 

"Hey! Everything turn out alright? We should go get our wands now!" Alex was bouncing on his heels, clearly feeling rather giddy.

 

Theo nodded, holding the pouch up in his hand for Alex to see with a grin to match. "Where *do* we go to get our wands?" asked Theo curiously.

 

"Ah," Alex pointed over to a black and gold storefront labeled Ollivander's. 

"Just over there. Come on!" Alex urged Theo on, his very legs itching to run over to the shop.

 

Theo followed Alex, excitement bubbling up inside him as they approached. He had seen what Mr. Weasley could do with his wand, and wondered if he would be able to do things like that as well.

 

Leading the way and entering the building, Alex made his way in and looked around while the two fathers waited outside and chatted. This had been Alex's first time in the shop as well, as he never previously had any reason to be there. He cautiously made his way to the counter, where no one made an appearance. 

 

Looking around though, he wasn't sure anyone was here, or even had been for years. It was mildly underwhelming, if not eerie. Narrow shelves shot from floor to ceiling, and stretched, imperceptibly curving this way and that into the far end of the shop. Each of them sagged under the weight of thousands of slim, dust-ridden boxes. 

 

Clearly containing wands, Theo squinted at each box, and found they all bore a faded label — Rowan, 10½", griffin feather or Hawthorn, 12", salamander ash — and the farther up it was, the older the handwriting appeared. Of course, Theo had no conceivable idea what half of these things meant. 

 

Even Alex, a pureblood, could hardly fathom the effort it took to acquire some of the listed ingredients. How on earth were you supposed to get dementor thread, anyway? Every now and then one of them could catch a box shiver, or knock into its neighbor, as if eager to be chosen.

 

The only light in the entire place either came from the windows, or one of the many lit candles bleeding wax onto various surfaces from the counters to the tops of bookshelves. All they really managed to do however, was illuminate the many cobwebs and dusty knickknacks that lurked around the place.

 

Alex peered around nervously. "Uhm... hello?"

 

Just then, a figure hanging from a ladder attached to brass rails slid out from behind the shelves. His hair was the color of fresh cotton, and his skin like parchment pulled taut over sharp cheekbones. 

 

"Ah! Sorry...." His big round eyes peered down at the boys, scrutinizing them as he would any wand. "I hadn't heard anyone come in...." 

 

The old man, presumably Ollivander, stepped down from the ladder and came to the counter. He smiled kindly down at them.

 

"And how may I help you boys today?"

 

"Oh, well, sir, it's our first time...." Alex trailed off, all of a sudden rather apprehensive. 

 

Ollivander nodded. "Ah, I see. Of course, I understand." He studied the two boys for a moment. "Let me see what I can do."

 

Ollivander disappeared for a minute or two. All that could be heard was his rummaging and muttered curses as he attempted to find the boys a suitable wand before coming back with two boxes. He unboxed them, revealing two wands and handed the boys one each.

Alex, an ash, 11¾", runespoor fang and Theo, an elm, 10½", basilisk scale. 

 

"Give those a try..." Ollivander said, awaiting a reaction. 

 

Alex looked at his uncertainly, and gave his wand a little wave. 

 

CRACK

 

A gust of magic surged from the wand and into the window, creating a large, webbing fracture in the storefront. Startled, Alex quickly set the wand back on the counter.

 

Theo raised a brow as Ollivander handed him his wand. Not exactly knowing what to do, he studied it a moment before looking to Alex and watching what he did. He too was startled as the window cracked, and he saw the way Alex quickly put his wand down.

 

Suddenly feeling a little nervous, Theo readied himself before giving his wand a similar wave. His eyes went wide as a bunch of books were violently thrown from a nearby shelf, the literary projectiles slamming into anything nearby. Theo looked to Ollivander with a bewildered face before he quickly did as Alex had done, and set the wand on the table.

 

Ollivander sighed deeply. "It's never the first one...." he said, disappointed. He put the two wands away, and went off to retrieve another two. In this instance, it only took him half the time to find them. Holly, 9¾", kelpie mane for Alex, and yew, 12", thunderbird feather for Theo.

 

"Try these," said Ollivander, placing the two faded boxes on the counter.

 

Alex, more confidently this time, grabbed the wand and gave it another sharp flourish. This time, the wand forced him back, throwing him off his feet and into a stack of books, knocking them all over. He slowly got up and put the wand back on the counter. 

 

Alex huffed dejectedly. "Maybe give us a wand that won't kill us before we get to Hogwarts?"

 

Theo's eyes went wide having seen Alex go flying. "Are you alright?"

 

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine...." muttered Alex, rubbing the small of his back.

 

It seemed there was more to this than Theo had originally imagined. Shaking his head, he gave the wand he was holding an awkward wave, not entirely sure what to expect. As he did so, the wand erupted, and a golf-ball-size hole was blasted into the ceiling. 

 

Theo's jaw dropped, thankful he hadn't pointed it at Alex, or Mr. Ollivander. 

 

"I'm sorry..." murmured Theo, slowly setting the wand on the table.

 

"Right... of course not... what was I thinking...." said Ollivander to himself, walking away. It took an even longer time for him to come back than the first, but he eventually did so with two more wands. 

 

Larch, 12¼", phoenix feather for Alex, and blackthorn, 11½" dragon heartstring for Theo. Alex gingerly picked up this wand, and gave it a small whirl through the air. There was an immediate inexplicable feeling inside of him. A light, warm breeze filled his aura, encircling him, before it faded. Alex grinned — this had to be the one.

 

Upon making contact with his own wand, Theo had felt that same warm, unexplainable sensation. It just felt... right somehow.

 

"Woah...." he murmured, looking down at the wand in his hand. "Did you feel that too?" He looked to Alex curiously as he saw the grin on the boy's face.

 

Alex nodded silently, too shocked to answer; he finally had his own wand. He turned to the old man, and smiled. "Thank you Mr. Ollivander." He pulled out some money, enough for a wand, and dropped it on the counter.

 

Theo turned his attention from Alex back to Ollivander and nodded in agreement. He took a moment to see how much money Alex put on the counter before doing the same, hoping that would be enough. He too was happy to have actually found a wand that didn't break something the moment he touched it.

 

Ollivander smiled. He clearly enjoyed seeing the children get their first wands. 

 

"Don't mention it," he said with a wink. "Alright boys, off ya get then." With a wave of his wand, everything that went wrong was fixed; the hole repaired itself, books flew back into place, and the cracked window resealed itself, making the shop look just as it had before they walked in. 

 

Alex watched the whole thing happen, but when he turned to tell Ollivander how cool that was, he had mysteriously disappeared. Turning to Theo, he shrugged and headed out the store.

 

Not sure where to put his wand, Theo simply tucked it into his sweater pocket as he followed Alex back outside. That was one item checked off the list, but there was still plenty else to get before they would be ready.

 

As they stepped back out into the alley, the warm din of Diagon Alley returned in full. Anthony was leaning against a lamppost nearby, puffing gently on a short pipe as he waited.

 

"Yeah, well, if he interferes again, I'll show Malfoy where he can put his wa— oh! Hello boys! Make out alright? Destroy the place?" Anthony said, putting out his pipe and vanishing it into thin air.

 

The boys nodded sheepishly. Anthony nodded back with a wink, as if he knew all too well the mishaps that came with a wand's choosing. 

 

"Right, Arthur, where next?"

 

Arthur cleared his throat. "Well, if I'm correct, we've got to go get clothes, a cauldron, a telescope, brass scales, and glass phials." Arthur listed. 

 

Anthony clapped his hands together. "Right then, let's get a move on."

 

And so they did. Their first stop was Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Two slightly older boys were being tended to before Alex and Theo. They must have been students as well, for afterwards they bore identical cloaks with the Hogwarts crest. One boy had red accents, while the other had blue. 

 

Theo ducked as a dress soared overhead. "What, so I can choose whatever color I want?"

 

Alex shook his head. "Nah, mate. We'll be getting sorted once we get there. I think the teachers there explain that a bit better, though." 

 

After a moment or two of getting poked and prodded by floating measuring tape, cloth pins, and sewing needles, the boys walked away with fitted, charcoal robes with no additional color. 

 

The second stop was Potage's Cauldron Shop. Arthur explained this would be best, so that the boys could carry their wares within their new cauldrons. 

 

It was rather stuffy, but the most memorable sight for Theo was the differently massive cauldrons on display. Each of them were made of a different metal, empty, save for harmless, enchanted whisps of multicolored steam curling from nothing. Not knowing any better, they both opted for the standard pewter two-inch bottoms. 

 

Theo inspected his cauldron. "So you're telling me there's potions as well?" He rapped the side and heard it hum with the anticipation of its next brew. "What's next, elves?"

 

Alex didn't have the heart to belay Theo's humor with the truth.

 

Next up was Wiseacres Wizarding Equipment. Gleaming telescopes teetered on the displays, the legs of them dancing around to show off the whole product. Curious, Theo put his eye up to one. The moment he did, the ceiling disappeared and the sun went out, revealing the current star pattern of a darkened sky. Sold, the boys purchased them and were able to collapse them small enough to place in their cauldrons.

 

Unfortunately, Wiseacre's was sold out of glass phials, and the clerk had painstakingly recounted how their stock of scales had been seized by Gringotts on account of forfeit goblin forgery. Because of this, they had to rush over across the alley to Humboldt and Sons' Brass Scales.

 

Without much of an option, the pair of them had been talked into a couple sets of decent scales. Quivering slightly, as though eager for weight, the dragon-etched arms stretched out on either side, hoisting two plates of beautifully engraved brass.

 

A few doors down, they finally arrived at their last stop: Abernathy's Glassware Emporium. Alex and Theo, with their new wands and penchant for breaking things were asked to stay outside. Pressed against the window, the boys could see shelves upon shelves of tinkling goblets, bowls, and phials. Every time one caught the light, it would scatter a hundred times over in a brilliant display of color, making it impossible to see further in. 

 

After a few minutes, Anthony and Arthur came out with the boys' necessary equipment. 

 

"—and that was the last time I let someone stick me on graveyard at St. Mungo's," said Anthony, holding the door for Arthur, who was roaring with laughter. 

 

"And that is why I work in Muggle Relations! For now anyway," Arthur responded, chuckling. "Alright, boys? How are we looking?"

 

"We've almost got everything on the list," remarked Theo, taking a moment to glance down at the parchment as he checked to make sure. "Except our books, of course."

 

Anthony clicked his tongue. "Ah, of course. We're meant to be meeting everyone there...." 

 

He checked his watch and froze as his eyes went wide. 

 

"Bloody he— Would you look at the time! Best we get on boys. Tara will have my hide if I'm responsible for you lot missing the train! Come on!"

 

The group hurried down the alley to a storefront titled proudly as Flourish and Blotts.

 

From the outside, it seemed quaint; its tall windows packed tightly with stacks of leather-bound tomes that threatened to spill into the cobbled street. A swinging sign above them creaked in the breeze, displaying the shop's name in glimmering, golden letters. 

 

Theo, having passed this one earlier, had been most intrigued by this one of them all.

 

Upon entering the book store, Theo was immediately struck by the comforting scent of parchment and aged ink. It was the same feeling that hit him then that he felt when reading a new book for the very first time. The interior however, was deceptively expansive despite its narrow storefront. Rows upon rows of towering shelves supported on two levels stored a vast amalgamation of books traveling higgledy-piggledy up to the very ceiling. 

 

There must have been one of every size, color, and age, likely sorted into different subjects entirely. Some on display at the bottom hovered slightly off of their pedestals or glowed faintly, emphasizing their presence above others. Others seemed to jostle every now and then, almost as if knocking other, inanimate competitors out of the way to be purchased first. The rest of them appeared to be pulling themselves off the shelves, gently floating down to awaiting customers. 

 

Scattered across the available floor space were plush armchairs and wooden stools, inviting shoppers to stop and read for a while, most of whom bustled around the place efficiently. Theo watched in awe as a man carried a stack of twenty of these books to the counter, more still flying over to add to the pile.

 

It wasn't long before they spotted the large conglomerate of families talking amongst each other at the heart of the crowd. 

 

When Tara spotted Alex, she lit up. "Oh there you are!" She rushed over to coddle him.

 

"Mum — no— come on — not now!" Alex held his arm out to stop his mother. 

 

Tara pouted. "Well fine, but I've already gotten your books. Here, darling." She set the books in Alex's cauldron and ruffled his hair. 

 

Theo smiled lightly, seeing Alex's mother's behavior, and finding it rather amusing. He almost wished his own mother could be here.

 

Arthur turned to Theo. "Alright son, I can help you get your books, but we must hurry, not too much time before you children need to catch the train."

 

Theo nodded. "I think I can find them easy enough," he said, holding up the list in his hand.

 

With that, he walked off further into the bookstore to seek out all the books he needed, splitting up with Arthur, his family, and the Carters. 

 

Navigating through the towering shelves of Flourish and Blotts, Theo carefully checked his list again. He soon found a copy of The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, its gold-embossed lettering shimmering invitingly under the store's warm lights. He tucked it under his arm and moved on.

 

Next was Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, a heavy volume bound in wine-red leather, its cover decorated with intricate runes. Theo paused briefly before grabbing A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, a slim, sleek volume with shifting illustrations that morphed between animal and object. 

 

Nearby, a stack of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore awaited him. Theo took a book from the precarious pile, and was startled when the illustrations within began rustling and emitting faint herbal fragrances. Smiling in wonder, he continued along the aisle, also picking up Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, its worn cover bearing faint claw marks and the occasional cry of unseen animals within.

 

Finally, he grabbed Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, an unassuming yet hefty tome that subtly rattled with the sounds of bubbling cauldrons and tinkling glassware as he lifted it from the shelf.

 

It didn't take long before he'd gathered everything he needed, purchased them, and headed back to the group. As they left, Alex stopped and turned to Theo.

 

"Hey, don't you want a pet to bring along? You're allowed one, you know." 

 

"A pet?" Theo glanced at the parchment, and noticing that at the bottom of the list, it said that students could bring one of three different animals. "Well, I think I might have just enough money left. Where would I go to get one?"

 

Alex looked around at the various storefronts featuring pets. "Well, it depends. What are you looking for?"

 

Theo tapped his chin, taking a moment to think. Having an owl seemed much more interesting than some boring old cat or a toad. "Definitely an owl." 

 

"Oh, well...." Alex pointed just across the street at a store called Eeylops Owl Emporium. "Just in there, they have a bunch of owls. That's where we got ours, Apollo." 

 

Theo turned his gaze toward the store, before looking back over to Alex. 

 

"If you wouldn't mind watching my things, I could go have a quick look." Theo knew they were short on time and that he'd bothered Mr. Weasley enough already.

 

"Oh, yeah, sure. That's fine," said Alex, watching as their group got farther and farther away. "We still have a bit of time anyway."

 

"Thanks." Theo gave him a wave and headed across the street to the owl shop. 

 

As Theo stepped into Eeylops Owl Emporium, his senses were immediately overtaken by the unmistakable earthy scent of feathers, straw, and something faintly musky. Dimly lit by softly glowing lanterns suspended from the low ceiling, the atmosphere was both warm and shadowy, punctuated by occasional hoots and the flutter of restless wings.

 

Rows upon rows of cages filled nearly every available space, stacked from floor to ceiling in organized chaos. Each cage held owls of various shapes, colors, and sizes from snowy white owls with watchful amber eyes, to small, jittery screech owls that peered curiously from their perches. A majestic tawny owl turned its head completely upside-down, examining Theo with blatant disinterest, while nearby, a large eagle owl puffed out its chest proudly as if awaiting royal inspection.

 

A little further into the shop, Theo spotted a gentle old witch carefully feeding treats to a row of particularly spirited barn owls, their heart-shaped faces eagerly reaching out to accept the morsels. Soft feathers drifted lazily through the air, catching beams of dusty sunlight that filtered through the partially-covered windows, creating a quietly magical scene.

 

After a brief exploration and cautiously avoiding the sharp beak of a particularly feisty long-eared owl, Theo finally locked eyes with a beautifully spotted owl perched calmly in a corner cage. The owl regarded him quietly, tipping her head slightly as though assessing his worthiness. Theo smiled back, and the owl relaxed, nipping Theo's finger affectionately as he reached in. 

 

“Perfect,” Theo whispered softly, deciding at once.

 

One avian purchase later, he carefully picked up the cage and made his way back to Alex, his heart warmed by the knowledge he had just found his first magical companion.

 

"You were right. There sure were a lot of owls in there. One of them even tried to bite me. Not this one, though." He motioned to his new pet, smiling lightly. "Her name's Ygritte."

 

By the time Theo got back, the adults had arranged for carts to transport the luggage. Alex had been sitting on his trunk when he saw Theo walking out of the store, bird in hand. 

 

Alex grinned. "Oh, wow, she's beautiful! We gotta move though. Not much time now, let's go!" 

 

And so they all headed to the end of Diagon Alley to a back entrance that led to King's Cross Station. 

 

Arthur pulled something out from his coat pocket and handed it to Theo as they walked. 

 

The ticket, oddly enough, read Platform 9¾.

 

"You're going to want that, you will," said Arthur, inclining his head towards it.

 

Theo glanced down at the ticket. "Platform 9¾? That can't be right. There's no such thing." He furrowed his brow, thinking that it must be some kind of misprint. 

 

Then again, unlike some spectacle-wearing clown, Theo actually had some common sense. He realized that the wizarding world had more than met the eye. Arthur, however, chuckled, not realizing that Theo was serious and continued walking. 

 

Eventually, they made it between platforms 9 and 10. 

 

Arthur gestured to the column of solid brick. "Well, here we are."

 

Theo looked around, as if he thought maybe he'd missed something. "Wait, that?" he questioned, pointing at the column of brick. "What, do you expect me to run through it, or something?"

 

Just as Theo said so, Percy sprinted through the wall, trolley in tow, followed by Wyatt, Fred and George, Makayla, Ron, Gwen and Tara, and Ginny and Molly. 

 

Alex turned to Theo and smiled happily. "Well, see you on the other side, mate." He then bolted through the wall, disappearing. Anthony followed suit.

 

Speechless yet again, all Theo could do was stare in astonishment.

 

With a shake of his head, he gripped the handle of his cart and ran straight at the wall, just as the others had done.

 

 

Chapter 5: The Hogwarts Express

Summary:

Alex and Theo struggle to find a free compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Who would be kind enough to allow them a seat on their first journey?

Upon breaching the magic barrier, Theo came to a quick halt as he nearly ran his trolley into Alex, not having expected to soar straight through a brick wall with such ease.

 

Even if Theo had run into Alex, he wouldn't have seen it coming for he had stopped to take in the sight of the Hogwarts Express — a sight he'd seen on numerous occasions. But this time, it was there for him. 

 

Excited, Alex took his rucksack and trunk, wheeling it over to his family and giving Theo a moment to himself. He kissed his mum and dad goodbye, and gave Gwen a big hug. 

 

Alex turned to Gwen, giving her a worried look. "Be careful this semester. I won't be around this time. And please just remember to feed Bandit and play with him regularly?"

 

Gwen nodded happily; she was always excited to watch over Bandit, as she was the only one Bandit trusted just as much as Alex.

 

*****

 

After saying goodbye to his children, Arthur walked back to Theo and put a hand on his shoulder. 

 

"Well, son, this is it. I'm glad I got to help you out and get you where you needed to be. You seem like a smart kid. I wish you the best of luck in your first year at Hogwarts. Welcome to the wizarding world." He reached a hand out to shake Theo's.

 

Theo smiled warmly, shaking Arthur's hand. He was truly grateful for all the man had done to help him. He'd likely have gotten lost or nowhere at all had he gone without. "Thanks again, Mr. Weasley."

 

With that, Theo proceeded to take his trolley over to the loading man. That was when he finally realized that he'd forgotten something — his clothes. It was too late now, though. There was nothing he could do as the man loaded up what luggage he did have onto the train.

 

Suddenly feeling like an idiot for forgetting something like that, he turned, and made his way over to where he'd seen Alex board the train.

 

*****

 

By now, Alex found that most of the areas were packed with nowhere to sit. That was until the last compartment, where he would find Ron, the Weasley boy from the Leaky Cauldron. Alex opened the door, hope filling him. 

 

"Hey, you mind if we sit here? Everywhere's pretty full," said Alex, relieved to see a familiar face.

 

Ron, who at that time had been sitting in the compartment by himself, turned to face Alex, giving him a dirty look. 

 

"Yeah, I do mind, actually," he replied rudely. Seeing Theo come up behind Alex, Ron rolled his eyes and added, "I think me and my family have done enough for you. Go find your own seats." Ron then gave a small huff through his nose before turning his head to look out the window.

 

Alex was taken aback. "What have we done? We just want somewhere to sit."

 

"And I'm tellin' ya to find someplace else," said Ron, not turning to face them again.

 

Feeling bad, Theo knew this was somehow his fault having spent the day with Ron's father. He tugged lightly at Alex's shoulder, not wanting to press the situation any further. "Let's just find somewhere else to sit. There must be at least one other free compartment." 

 

Alex sighed. "Right then...." He pressed on begrudgingly, trudging further ahead. 

 

A few cabins down, they came across a seemingly empty compartment. After all, the striped cushion seats with the threading coming out were barren of life.

 

"I could've sworn there were others in this one before...." pondered Alex, looking around and catching a glimpse of families going this way and that through the window. "Oh well, there's nowhere else anyway." Alex slid the door open and walked in. Seeing a luggage rack above, he reached up and stowed his things before taking a seat.

 

With a light huff, Theo sat down in the seat across from Alex and frowned. "You know something? I completely forgot to bring any of my clothes. I had them packed and everything!" He sighed, shaking his head. Things had been going well all day. He supposed it was just the ways things were meant to be to balance things out.

 

"Oh, well, uh, I suppose you could borrow some of mine until your mum can send you—"

Alex was cut off when he glanced up above Theo and spotted other people's luggage. He began to get up. "Maybe we should—" but he was cut off yet again. This time, it came in the form of a massive toad leaping up onto his lap and looking at him. "What the—?!"

 

"Trevor! Trevor, where are you?!" yelled a boy, just out of sight. But just then, he flitted by the window and burst into the compartment. It was a black-haired boy with a round face. He didn't look any older than them, but was ever so slightly pudgier. Not like Vincent; Neville seemed warmer and easier to approach. 

 

The boy looked around, and his eyes lit up when he spotted the toad. "Trevor!" He exclaimed, picking the toad up in delight. "How did you find him?!"

 

"Oh, well, I didn't— uh..." Alex sputtered, but the boy didn't let him finish anyway. 

 

"My name's Neville, by the way," the boy said, sitting down next to Theo. He seemed not to have cared whether or not the two wanted him to sit. "Neville Longbottom."

 

Theo had been about to respond to Alex regarding the other people of their compartment before the toad, whose name was apparently Trevor, showed up out of nowhere, much like his owner, Neville Longbottom. 

 

He raised his brow at the strange boy, but was glad to see that he seemed the nice enough sort. At least, enough not to kick them out of his compartment. "Well, Neville, I'm Theodore Reid, but please, just call me Theo. And the one who saved your toad is Alex Carter," he said, opting to be friendly back. Alex gave a small, friendly wave to the boy.

 

"There was someone else in here," said Neville, "but I'm not sure where she's gone. I was out looking for Trevor, see, but... oh well." The boy looked around at the two boys with uncontainable excitement. "Are you guys excited? I wonder what house I'll be put in..." 

 

"Yeah, but just between us, I hope it's not Slytherin. Bad people, them," said Alex.

 

Neville nodded in agreement, but his face twitched as if something about that bothered him.

 

Theo tilted his head slightly, this being the first time he'd heard of such a thing. "Which house?"

 

Neville turned to Theo. "Oh, well, basically, there's four groups, and you'll be sorted into one of them," he poorly explained. 

 

But Alex continued. "Yeah, remember those colored robes? Well, there's four 'houses'. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw... and Slytherin. I'm not all too sure how it works, but you'll be doing most everything with the house you're sorted in, including classes, or even a Quidditch team."

 

Theo nodded in understanding. That all made sense enough to him. Though, he did have one other query. "What makes Slytherin so bad?"

 

"Well, it's said — with enough evidence, mind you — that throughout history, many many Slytherins turn out to be bad wizards." He then leaned in and looked around, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Like... Voldemort."

 

Neville immediately freaked out, clapping his hands to his ears as if he feared for his own life. "Are you mad?! Don't say his name like that!" 

 

But Alex waved him off and shrugged. "Well, it's true."

 

Theo was only more curious. There were bad wizards? It made sense, as there were bad people no matter where you went, but it was nonetheless a little startling to hear. But, what caught his attention the most, was Neville's reaction to the name that Alex spoke. "Who is...Voldemort...?" he asked, keeping his tone low.

 

"The name!!" Neville shouted, his eyes bulging in fear. "He's a baddie, that one, that's all you need to know!"

 

Alex rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. 'You-Know-Who'. He was a wizard who killed lots of men, women, and children without remorse. He prioritized Muggles, and Muggleborns mostly, but he struck down any that got in his way. That is, until he was defeated." 

 

Neville looked as if he was in major discomfort, but in Alex's ignorance, he continued. "A group banded together and took him down once and for all." Alex propped himself up a bit, looking smug. "The members of which happened to include my parents."

 

Neville's face went red. Not out of anger, but something else.

 

Theo shook his head. "Oh, wow. That's awful...." That was a lot to take in, all at once. It seemed that there was certainly more to all of this than just simply going to school. "At least he's gone for good, right?" Theo looked at the two boys, taking note of the look on Neville's face.

 

But, before anything else could be said, the door to the compartment slid open, and a pallid girl stepped in. She had long, straggling, dirty blonde hair with pale eyebrows and wide silvery, eyes that made her look as if she was constantly gazing around in wonder.

 

She had appeared, holding a small stack of magazines. "Oh... hello..." she spoke, her voice lilting and dreamy as she looked at the three boys. She offered the three boys her stack. "Quibbler?"

 

Alex blinked, hearing the foreign word 'Quibbler' enter his ears. Curious, he took one, taking note of the odd, yet interesting things on the front. "Thanks... What's this all about?" 

 

The title was splashed across the top in crooked, glittering letters. Beneath it was a crudely drawn depiction of an animal Alex hadn't seen before. It was a purple, spiral-horned, pig-nosed beast of a creature that seemed to be mid-charge, its horn glowing like a lantern. Bright red ink circled headlines screaming:

 

"MINISTRY HIDES TRUTH ABOUT INVISIBLE DEMONS!!!"

 

and

 

"EVIDENCE MOUNTS THAT YOU-KNOW-WHO WAS ACTUALLY THREE GOBLINS IN A ROBE!!!"

 

There were hand-drawn stars, symbols, something that looked suspiciously like a goat, and even a scratch-and-sniff corner labeled: "Smells Like Truth!"

 

The girl seemed to crack a small smile, seeing someone take an interest. "It's my father's magazine. He gave me a few to hand out and attract new readers," she explained in that same tone of voice. "I didn't realize others were occupying this compartment. I hope you don't mind if I take my seat back." Not waiting for an answer, she sat down beside Alex.

 

"Oh, well, that's cool then..." said Alex, totally bewildered by the encounter. Before he could respond — even though it would have been a yes — she had sat down. He began flicking through the pages of the Quibbler.

 

The girl simply sat there, staring around with a pleasant, but neutral expression on her face.

 

Theo furrowed his brow slightly, taking notice that this girl was a little odd. Though of course he wouldn't just say that.

 

There was a loud hiss, then the train shifted as it began to take off. Alex looked around excitedly. "Well, here we go!" 

 

Neville seemed more relaxed now, appearing eager as well. Alex closed the magazine and set it aside for now. He turned to the girl. "So, what's your name?"

 

"Hm? Oh, you can call me Luna. Luna Lovegood," replied the girl, glancing to Alex. She seemed as if he'd interrupted some complex train of thought going on inside her head.

 

"Oh, well, I'm Alex. Alex Carter, and this is Theo, and Neville." He then pointed to them respectively.

 

"Charmed." Luna gave a genuine smile towards the three boys. She was a sweet girl, if not a bit peculiar.

 

Theo gave a nod of acknowledgement toward the girl. It had been awhile since he'd had actual friends to talk to, but perhaps things would finally change.

 

*****

 

As the train left King's Cross Station, Alex thought to himself how nice it was to meet such people he could get along with. Thirty minutes of irrelevant, uninterrupted chatter went by before a sweet old lady with a trolley full of various goods pulled up to the compartment. 

 

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

 

Candy? Of course Alex would be interested. He got up, and spent more than he should on various candy, taking into consideration Theo, who most likely hadn't had any of this before. He'd bought more than enough to share, keeping in mind that Neville had said he hadn't any money, and he wasn't sure about Luna, who appeared to be off in la-la-land. With a sudden idea, he pulled down his trunk and set it in the middle, making a makeshift table. He then dumped the candy on it in a display of color and variety. 

 

"My treat," said Alex with a big, almost frightening grin as he viciously attacked a rich, crème-filled chocolate cake, molded to look like a bubbling cauldron, complete with sugary green 'steam' wafting from the top.

 

Theo looked wide eyed at the spread of candy on Alex's makeshift table. "Whoah...." he had never seen any candy like *this* before. 

 

A bag labeled Ice Mice contained shiny, pale blue candies shaped like little mice. All of which were scurrying around inside their packaging, promising a chilly, minty sweetness. Small, pentagon-shaped boxes nearby seemed to contain thick blocks of enchanted milk chocolate in the shape of frogs, each one jostling every so often. There was a bigger box labeled Peppermint Toads. The illustration showed rows of small toads made of cool, creamy peppermint with a chocolate shell; Theo could hear them hopping and croaking from within.

 

He took a moment to look them over, trying to decide which one to try first. He settled on what looked to be the safest thing and took a long, glossy black stick from the pile. It turned out to be a lot better tasting than any regular licorice he'd ever had. It was sugar-dusted, with crystals that sparked lightly on his tongue, leaving a warm vanilla aftertaste behind the licorice. "This is really good! Thanks, Alex!" Without hesitation, Theo took another bite from the licorice wand.

 

Luna's attention too was drawn toward the pile of candy. "May I have one?" She could be seen eyeing up a bottle of tiny golden spheres labeled 'Fizzing Whizbees'.

 

"Yeah, 'course," said Alex, mouth full and wiping chocolate from the corners.

 

Luna took the bottle of Fizzing Whizbees and opened it, taking out a few and popping them into her mouth. As she chewed them, the sound of crackling and sizzling could be heard inside her mouth, which she appeared to be enjoying. She felt lifted, like a hover charm inside her very head.

 

Neville had reached for a Chocolate Frog, but then eyeballed Trevor. Deciding against it, he instead reached for the jelly slugs — stretchy, jelly-like treats that came in wildly clashing flavours like 'burnt banana' or 'acid apple'. It wriggled as he picked up a blue one. 

 

Having finished his licorice wand, Theo once again inspected the pile of sweets, and picked up a box of what was labeled as 'Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans'. 

 

Theo looked to Alex curiously. "Ever had these before?"

 

Alex stared Theo dead in the face. "Yeah, they're amazing."

 

Without question and a small shrug to match, Theo opened the box and reached in, taking out a bright red bean. Assuming it was cherry, or some such thing, he popped it into his mouth to discover that it tasted exactly like.... His face contorted into a look of confusion. 

 

"What... what the...?" he murmured, looking to Alex for answers. "That wasn't sweet at all. That... that tasted like bacon!"

 

Luna giggled lightly, seeing the look on Theo's face. "Well, they don't call them every-flavour beans for nothing, you know?"

 

Disappointed with the result, Alex instead went to reach for the Chocolate Frog. 

 

Theo was about to try another jelly bean, when the trunk suddenly rumbled, startling the group and causing some of the candy to slide into the seat or down onto the floor

 

"What was that?" he asked, wondering just what Alex was keeping in his suitcase.

 

Alex shook his head nervously, not knowing either. He cautiously reached towards the first latch, undoing it with a snap.

 

Alex gulped. He slowly reached for the second latch. His fingers touching the metal.

 

The trunk flung open the moment Alex nudged the latch, sending sweets and clothing everywhere. Even Neville had thrown up his hands in an attempt to shield himself. Lastly, from within the clothing, burst none other than Bandit, the Niffler. He could be seen rapidly stuffing spare change into his little pouch.

 

Alex watched in horror as the little Niffler pounced onto the seat, and onto his lap, expecting coddles, or some sort of reward. "What... the bloody hell... are you doing here," he said, almost having to force it out.

 

"What... what is that thing?" Theo's eyes widened, seeing the bizarre creature emerge from the pile of clothes. Furry and duck-billed, it looked like a raccoon had given birth to a platypus. Or perhaps the other way around.

 

Luna, who had ended up with a pair of Alex's boxers on her head due to the eruption of clothes, slowly removed them and handed them over to him. "Lavender is a very nice scent..." she remarked, making reference to the soap that had apparently been used to wash them. 

 

Turning red, Alex snatched the boxers and hastily stuffed all the clothes the trunk before slamming it shut and latching it back shut.

 

Luna's eyes fell upon Bandit and she smiled, attempting to reach out and touch the creature. "Oh, a Niffler! He's lovely. What's his name?" 

 

"His... his name is Bandit. And it seems he has some separation anxiety...." Alex, still in disbelief, watched as the Niffler cautiously sniffed Luna's arm before allowing her to pet him. Bandit pulled out a Galleon from his tiny pouch and began nibbling on it as if he were teething. 

 

Luna looked quite happy, stroking her pale hand over Bandit's soft, dark fur. She remained silent, seeming content.

 

Alex held his forehead. "What the hell am I gonna do...?" He did love having him around. But, they wouldn't let him stay... would they? He shook the thought for now. 

 

"I guess I'll have to wait to get there before I can think what to do about this...."

 

Neville chimed in. "Ah, well, that's unfortunate you can't keep him, he's really cool."

 

Theo watched Bandit curiously, finding the little creature quite interesting, much like everything else of the magical world that he'd seen thus far. "Why wouldn't they let you keep him? What harm could he possibly do?"

 

"Well, I mean, you saw the list. Besides... if you haven't noticed already, he has a particular eye for shiny objects...." Alex reached down to scratch Bandit's neck, who happened to be loving the attention.

 

"Hm...." Theo furrowed his brow lightly, looking at the Galleon in Bandit's hands, nodding lightly. "Suppose you're right."

 

"Perhaps if you ask nicely, they might just let him stay," commented Luna, still seeming quite preoccupied, giving the little Niffler all the attention he could want.

 

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets dejectedly. "We'll just have to see, I guess..."

 

*****

 

For a while, they continued to talk amongst each other, and Alex had decided to let Bandit fool around in the cabin for the remainder of the journey. The little Niffler ended up having taken a particular interest in trying to catch a Chocolate Frog. 

 

"So, how'd you guys first figure out you had magic in you?" Alex casually asked, funneling a handful of sorted jelly beans into his mouth.

 

Theo thought for a moment, as he munched on a cluster of candied cockroaches that he'd dared to try, finding that the little buggers were actually made of chocolate and filling. "You remember the last day of school? When that tray hit Vincent?" he asked, looking to Alex. "That was me. Didn't do it on purpose of course, but it was me. Somehow Mr. Weasley knew about it, and showed up at my house. That's when I got the recommendation letter."

 

Alex was floored. "No way! I hadn't seen it... I thought you threw it at him!"

 

Theo shook his head. "Nope. Complete accident."

 

Neville piped up. "Mine took a while. My Uncle Algie thought I might not be magic and kept trying to force it out of me. It finally came when he accidentally dropped me out of a window and I bounced down the road."

 

Theo's eyes widened in horror at Neville's story.

 

"That's terrible," remarked Luna, chewing on an iced mouse. "My parents found out I was a witch when I was really young. I don't remember it, but apparently I used to make my baby toys float around from time to time."

 

"Oh really? Same here," said Alex, thinking back. "Except they found out that when I cried, all the lights would start flickering." 

 

With all the talk of magic, Theo decided to take out his wand, just to look at it. Blackthorn, he remembered. A sleek, eleven and a half inches of it. Its grain was rough like weathered bark, but cool to the touch. It seemed to pulse with a subtle tension, as if the dragon heartstring within it was waiting for permission to release its first spell. 

 

He wondered why exactly it was that this particular wand had reacted the way it did when he touched it, versus what happened with the ones before it.

 

Noticing Theo's wand, Luna's attention shifted towards him. "Oh, do you know any spells?"

 

Looking up from his wand, Theo shook his head. "No, afraid not. Do any of you?"

 

"Well, I mean, I've heard of a couple," said Alex. He pulled out his own wand and pointed it at Bandit. He cleared his throat. "Engorgio."

 

As the spell was meant for, Bandit grew. Slowly, imperceptibly at first, gradually until he was nearly double the size. Soon enough, he was the size of a watermelon.

 

Theo had only seen a few wordless spells up until this point, but that seemed simple enough. He looked from the enlarged Bandit to Alex. "How do you get him back to his normal size?" 

 

Alex thought for a moment, reveling in his accomplishment. However, it didn't end there.

 

Bandit continued to grow.... and grow... until he was about the size of a human... or two, but he didn't stop, growing uncontrollably still. 

 

"Alex! Quick! Turn him back!" Neville yelled in fear as the poor animal grew and grew. 

 

"Shhh I'm thinking!" shouted Alex back. "Uh... ru... ru.... Reducto!" A red-hot spell shot from Alex's wand and went ricocheting around the cabin before hitting the window and cracking it. 

 

Theo watched on in panicked horror, feeling helpless as Bandit grew larger and larger. He ducked his head low, just in time to avoid the ricocheting spell, and watched as it cracked the window. 

 

Panicking, Alex thought hard. What was that spell again? 

 

And it was then, just when Bandit was almost too big to bear, that he suddenly got it.

 

"Reducio!!" 

 

And just like that, Bandit started deflating, flying around the room like a popped balloon and landing in the center on the trunk. He proceeded to grab his little feet and roll around like a ball. 

 

Alex sighed quietly. "Right... maybe we should wait 'till we start class...." 

 

Seeing Bandit reducing in size, Theo was able to sigh in relief. With that, he quietly tucked his wand back in his pocket; that was a close enough call. "Yeah, let's not do that again...." 

 

Luna of all them seemed the least bit shaken by the display of haywire magic. "He was rather cute when he was all big, don't you think?"

 

Alex laughed nervously, shakily reaching for more chocolate. He reopened the Quibbler and promptly hid behind it in embarrassment. And so, he quietly read for most of the way. 

 

Neville fell asleep shortly after, and Theo was left to look out the window with Luna, who didn't seem bothered at all by the silence.

 

Soon enough, they were approaching the station, and the four children had put on or otherwise adjusted their robes.

 

"I feel like I'm a part of some cult," said Alex, looking down at his drooping sleeves as the train came to a halt. "Oh well, let's go then." 

 

As they were stepping out, he saw that red-haired boy from before — Ron. This time, he was with two others: a bushy, brown haired girl with buck teeth, and a black haired boy with glasses. Alex felt the urge to say something but decided against it. He had made good acquaintances all because they were refused a seat. That was enough for him.

 

As they stood on the platform looking about, there was a very very large and bearded man yelling. "Firs' years, this way!" he repeated every few seconds. Alex took a moment to take it all in. Always hearing about it but never seeing it, now come to pass for the very first time. He turned around to Theo and gestured to the impressive castle above. 

 

"Well, what do you think, Theo? This... is Hogwarts."

 

 

 

Chapter 6: The Sorting Ceremony

Summary:

The four friends get their first glimpse of Hogwarts from the inside. Will the group stay together, or will different classmates split them apart?

As Theo stepped off the train, his gaze was immediately drawn to the breathtaking view of the castle. Or, at least, what could be seen of it in the dim light of the night. Perched high on a distant cliff overlooking a rippling black lake, the towering castle loomed overhead like something out of a dream. Its silhouette was jagged with towers and turrets, each one spilling golden torchlight from their arched windows, cutting through the velvet curtain of darkness with a whimsical subtlety. Theo had heard his friends' descriptions of the school on the way here, but it had little prepared him for the spellbinding sight before him. 

 

 "It's... it's amazing...." he murmured softly. He certainly never expected to be attending a school for wizards, much less one held within a towering castle. He was brought out of his captivation by the sound of the large man's voice, beckoning the students over to him.

"Guess we ought to go," he said breathlessly, his anticipation at an all time high as he wondered what it looked like inside Hogwarts.

 

Alex nodded, and the four of them joined the throng, funneling in with all the other first years. 

 

*****

 

After a few minutes of walking a torchlit path straight to the water, the big man eventually led them to a dock, where many of the first years began getting into little wooden boats with lanterns affixed to the front. Alex stepped in one and sat down alongside Neville at the front.

 

Theo sat down on the boat behind them, followed by Luna. He took a moment to look around, seeing all the other first years and their uncontainable enthusiasm. The closer they got to the castle, the more he began to think about which house he would be sorted into.

 

Alex held Bandit out in front of him, giving him a stern look. "Stay. Put." He then stuffed the little Niffler in his hood. Alex had made sure to give him some coins to play with to keep him preoccupied. 

 

The boat ride was a bit chilly, but otherwise rather pleasant. The real highlight of this came when, as the boats cut through the inky blackness of the lake, Neville spun around, too eager to contain his excitement, and promptly fell into the lake. Almost immediately, he had been pushed straight back into the boat by what looked suspiciously like a tentacle.

 

At last, they reached a long dock that sat outside a sort of vestibule, leading through to a kind of viaduct where they were directed by an elderly man with long, greasy, unkempt gray hair to climb the steps and wait at the door.

 

"Uhh, so... what was that thing in the lake?" questioned Theo, looking to Alex as they all stepped off the boats and made their way up the steps as the scraggly old man had directed them. Whatever that thing had been, it couldn't have been all that bad considering it saved Neville from drowning. It was certainly strange, nonetheless.

 

Alex shrugged; he was just glad it wasn't him plunging into the lake. "Could be anything, around here. Looked like an octopus, maybe? I don't know.... What do you suppose which house you guys will be in?" Alex asked the group.

 

"Well, I'm not entirely sure. I guess as long as it's not Slytherin, like you said," replied Theo with a light shrug of his shoulders.

 

"Perhaps Hufflepuff might be nice, or maybe Ravenclaw," chimed Luna, already having decided which of the four sounded best to her.

 

Neville did not answer. He appeared too nervous to do so. Alex thought for a moment, not wanting to answer. He just hoped that they would get to be together, already being friendly and all. Before he could answer however, the big doors before them creaked open, and an elderly woman in emerald green robes and glasses stepped out. The chatter filling the room before fell silent. 

 

"My name is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. The sorting ceremony will begin shortly. I will be calling each of you up one by one alphabetically to put on the sorting hat. Once sorted, you will proceed to the table of your house. I expect you all to be on your best behavior." She said, looking over all the students with a stern gaze. "Now, if you will, follow me please."

 

The halls themselves were dimly lit with quietly burning torches spitting up low flames. The ancient flagstone was lined here and there with suits of armor, standing like silent sentinels. One or two twitched faintly, as if itching to move from its post. The ceilings above were arched high, draped with centuries of dusty cobwebs and worn tapestries, swinging gently overhead. Some of them depicted dragons, or battles and magical duels, others seemed to hold half-forgotten historical figures.

 

Brimming with excitement, Alex and his newfound friends made their way through the shadowy castle corridors. As they did so, Alex could hear the bushy-haired girl behind him spouting off facts she'd read in her book, some of which were mildly interesting. 

 

“…Hogwarts was hidden from Muggles centuries before the Statute of Secrecy. If a Muggle stumbles upon it, they’ll just see a pile of ruins with a warning sign that says ‘Danger: Do Not Enter.’ Brilliant, really.”

 

In time, as they rounded the final corner, they were greeted by an imposing set of towering oak doors. They were so close now. The enchantment of what lay ahead buzzed throughout the group of youngsters, a subtle chatter through the otherwise silent halls. Opening the massive doors, McGonagall led them through. 

  

It was an otherworldly sight. Alex looked around, taking it all in. Four long tables stretched ahead of them. All polished and wooden, they took up most of the floor from entrance to end, one for each House. The sturdy tables and accompanying benches held the student body, and all the gleaming silverware needed to feed a mob. Taking note of the enchanted ceiling, the group would see bright, spectacular stars, mirroring the night sky. Hovering around just out of reach were hundreds of candles, casting a soft, golden glow and flickering subtle shadows across the hall.

 

Alex quickly spotted his siblings, Makayla, who waved at him; and Wyatt, who gave him a cheeky grin and thumbs-up. Alex smiled back but continued on, eager to get sorted. At the far end of the room, Alex spotted the teachers and staff — an assortment of mysterious figures that were smiling, intimidating, or otherwise unreadable — all sitting at the long, raised table at the head of the room. 

 

Theo's eyes were drawn to the old man in the very center of the raised table. He looked ancient, with long, silvery hair and a beard to match. His robes shimmered faintly in the candlelight, dotted with what seemed to be tiny stars. His glasses, half-moon spectacles, balanced on a crooked nose that looked as if it had been broken more than once. It wasn't any of that that held Theo's gaze. It was the man's eyes. Sharp and blue, they pierced through Theo like a searchlight. Theo didn't know who he was, but one thing was for certain. That man was important. 

 

McGonagall had conjured a beaten-up three-legged stool that wobbled when she sat it down. Then, she placed an old, weathered, pointed hat upon it. Warm and weathered, the brim seemed to twitch, as if awaiting a student's brain to pick through. The body of it, however, had unmistakably folded into a face, peering around eyelessly at all the first years. 

 

McGonagall cleared her throat and pulled a thick scroll from her robes. She then began calling up students one by one in a firm, clear voice. 

 

"Hannah Abbot!" she began. 

 

A fair-haired girl with pink cheeks and trembling hands stumbled forward, nearly tripping over her own robes. She cast a nervous glance toward the other first years before sitting on the stool. The Sorting Hat had barely grazed her head when it bellowed, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

 

The respective table of yellow-accented students erupted in cheer. Hannah let out a squeak of surprise, then hurried to join her new housemates, face flushed but smiling.

 

Several more students had been called up, and it wasn't long before "Alex Carter!" was announced. His palms sweaty with anticipation, Alex made his way up to the hat and sat down in the chair. 

 

McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and there was an immediate, pervasive sensation that surged through his head. Then, surprisingly, something in there spoke to him.

 

"Hmm, let's see here...." it said in a low voice. It was as if his past, present, and even his future was being purged by something he could not see. "Plenty of courage, I see... cleverness, too. Well, I think it's pretty clear..." the voice said. And then, abruptly, the voice shouted out loud, "GRYFFINDOR!"

 

Alex saw Wyatt spring up and pump a fist in the air before clapping along with the rest of the House. As relief washed over him, Alex gave a double thumbs-up to the other three for good luck, and went to sit down at the Gryffindor table next to Makayla, right where he had planned to be from the beginning. 

 

"Welcome to Gryffindor little brother," she said, ruffling his hair.

 

It was a little while before the next familiar face was called up.

 

"Neville Longbottom!"

 

The poor boy looked as if he was about to faint. Trembling head to foot, he slowly stepped up to the stool. McGonagall inclined her head toward the stool as he stood there, unsure. Gingerly, he sat upon it. 

 

McGonagall lowered the hat onto Neville's head, and the very moment the hat touched him, the hat shouted — "GRYFFINDOR!!"

 

Alex was mildly surprised, he almost would have guessed him to be a Hufflepuff from his kind nature. Nevertheless, he clapped; he was just happy one of his friends was able to join him. 

 

When Neville sat down across from him, Alex shook his hand. "Nice to see ya, Neville," he grinned.

 

Neville gave a small laugh. "Yeah... I thought I was going to die up there in front of everyone...." 

 

Alex turned his attention back to the ceremony, eager to see if both Luna and Theo would be able to join them at the Gryffindor table.

 

Theo stood in the line, marveling at the Great Hall as he awaited his turn to be sorted. First, hearing Alex's name get called, he turned his attention toward the front of the large room, watching as the strange looking hat was placed atop his head. It had shocked him when the hat began shouting House names, but at this point, Theo had been getting used to being constantly surprised by everything around him. Hearing Neville be called for Gryffindor as well had settled it. He definitely hoped to be sorted into Gryffindor, not wanting to be separated from his newfound friends. 

 

Moments later, as the line dwindled down, "Luna Lovegood!" could be heard next. Theo watched as the blonde haired girl skipped along, all the way up to the front of the room without any shame whatsoever. She sat down in the seat and glanced up as the hat was placed on her head. There was a short moment of silence, before the hat exclaimed—

 

"RAVENCLAW!!!"

 

This gained a mixture of surprised looks and cheers from the Ravenclaw table. With a dreamy smile, she drifted her way over to the house table, looking as though she had known the outcome all along.

 

Theo too was surprised, to say the least. Seeing Luna get sorted into a house other than Gryffindor, made him a bit worried that something similar could happen to him. 

 

A twinge of sadness crossed over Alex when Luna was called to Ravenclaw. His previous envisionings of the group all hanging out together had been wounded. Though she seemed happy, and perhaps they could still be friends and hang out anyway, he thought. 

 

Soon after that, the name, "Draco Malfoy!" would be called, and a boy with slicked back, platinum blonde hair stepped up to the front. The sorting hat had barely touched said blonde hair before it spat out "SLYTHERIN!!!"

 

Theo could tell from the look on the boy's smug face, that that was exactly what he'd expected, and wanted to hear. 

 

Another short period of time passed before Theo finally heard, "Theodore Reid!" get called. With a deep breath, he walked over, and sat down. A similar, strange sensation was all Theo could feel. As if something was rooting around inside his mind, hungry for his very personality. Yet he stood silent, awaiting the hat's decision. 

 

"Hmm..." the hat murmured lowly, as if it were contemplating. "I'll have to say.... GRYFFINDOR!!!"

 

Hearing that, Theo's face lit up with a mixture of happiness and relief. The Gryffindor table erupted once more, welcoming Theo over with cheers as he made his way over, looking for a place to sit.

 

Hearing Theo's name get called to Gryffindor, Alex's spirits rose considerably. He quickly made space as Theo came over. "Alright! Welcome to Gryffindor!" Alex said, patting him on the back.

 

Taking his seat on the bench, Theo nodded toward Alex, smiling lightly. "For a bit there, I wasn't sure what that manky old hat was going to say." He glanced over to the front of the room, for a moment. "It's a shame about Luna, though..." he said, turning back to Alex.

 

Alex shrugged. "Yeah... but I'm sure we'll be seeing her again," he said, unsure as he spotted Luna at the Ravenclaw table, talking amongst her new classmates. 

 

After "Blaise Zabini!" was sorted into Slytherin, the Sorting Ceremony had ended, and all the first years were in their respective houses. 

 

The old man in the center stood up, and made his way to the owl-crested podium at the front. "The very best of evenings to all of you! My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. But, you can just call me 'Professor'. Now… to our new students, welcome! And to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you. Additionally, I'd like to give a warm welcome, to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher: Professor Quirrel." He gestured to a man in purple robes and turban.

 

"Th-th-thank you. D-d-d-Dumbledore. P-p-p-pleased to b-b-b-be here," the timid-seeming man said. 

 

Dumbledore smiled, and nodded to him before continuing. "Now, there are a few things before supper I'd like to mention. First, for you first years, you should know that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students without proper supervision. Secondly, Mr. Filch," said Dumbledore, gesturing to the unkempt man from before, "our caretaker, has asked me to remind you that no magic is to be used between classes in the corridors. And lastly, I must tell you, that this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to all that do not wish to die a most horrible death. And with that... enjoy the feast!"

 

As soon as the speech ended, a massive buffet instantly appeared across the tables. The impressive spread included glittering, golden trays, stacked high with heaping mounds of steaming, buttery mashed potatoes dripping with thick, savory gravy. Nestled by them were gleaming silver trays stacked haphazardly with perfectly cooked, juicy sausages, still sizzling right out of the pan. 

 

Honey glazed ham, carved in thick, glistening slices. Trays of shepherd's pie, bubbling at the edges. Charred roast beef with a juicy pink center, precut in ready slices. All of it for the enjoyment of the entire castle. 

 

Alex had never seen anything like it. He had momentarily forgotten the ominous warning about a horrible death and dug right in, starving, even after all the candy he ate.

 

Of course, Alex wasn't the only one surprised by the sudden appearance of the massive feast that seemed to stretch on forever down the long table. Theo was once again left with wide eyes as he tried to decide what exactly it was that he wanted to try first. He was so distracted, he hadn't even had time to give the concerning warning any thought. After a while, he settled on a little bit of everything, feeling quite hungry after the long day he'd had. "This is so, so much better than anything Cranbrook ever tried to give us." he commented to Alex as they both thoroughly enjoyed the feast.

 

Alex smiled and nodded, mouth stuffed with roast chicken. But Makayla nudged him. "Don't get too comfortable just because old man Crawford's not here." She pointed to a hook-nosed teacher with greasy black hair. He appeared to have a resting face that said he resented everything. "That's Snape, the Potions teacher. You'll want to watch out for him, he always favors the Slytherins."

 

Alex thought for a moment. There's no way he could be as bad as Crawford. No way... right? 

 

*****

 

Before long, the students had eaten themselves full to the brim. It was then that Dumbledore stood once more, effortlessly commanding the attention of the entire room. "I hope you all had a wonderful supper. But now, as it is at the end of any other night, it is time for bed. But remember, you have a big day ahead tomorrow! Prefects, if you could lead the first years to their dormitories.... Chop chop!"  

 

Alex liked Dumbledore. Better than the old headmaster at Cranbrook, at least. A tall boy with curly red hair stood up and said loud and clear. Theo recognized him, as it was none other than Percy, Ron's older brother.

 

He waved his presence and shouted, "Gryffindor first-years, follow me!"

 

The moment Alex got up, it felt like he was being weighed down from all the food. Suddenly, he felt immensely tired and could really use a bed, it had been a very long, eventful day. 

 

After the more than filling meal, Theo also felt rather exhausted, and could feel his eyelids growing heavy as they rose from the table, full to bursting. With a yawn, he stood up to follow Percy and the other students out of the Great Hall. 

 

They all followed Percy through the hall and up the stairs. As they were climbing, the staircase began shifting. Alex immediately launched himself at the nearest banister, fearing for his life. Looking at Theo, it seemed as if he had thought the same thing. Theo had momentarily been brought out of his tiredness by the shifting beneath his feet, which understandably alarmed him. 

 

"Oh, don't mind the stairs, they like to change," said Percy calmly. His casual explanation seemed to quell most of the students freaking out, except for Neville, who still looked as though his stomach contents were filing for a divorce.

 

Before long, they reached a large, ornate painting mounted on the stone wall. The lady in the painting was a stately woman, depicted in rich, burgundy robes. In her frame, she was seated on a tufted velvet armchair, looking down at all the students, and Percy.

 

"Password?" she asked simply. 

 

"Caput Draconis," recited Percy. The painting slowly swung open, revealing a passageway. 

 

Theo gaped. Though, he thought that the moving painting ought not to surprise him as he'd seen one of those wizard cards that came with the chocolate frogs that they'd gotten back on the train, and it made sense that other pictures might move as well. 

 

The students followed Percy inside, finding a very cozy round room, filled with squashy arm chairs, a sofa, and a nice fireplace. The wind was more prominent all the way up here, gently rattling the windows as if it was calmly asking for attention. Alex would've been more interested in the intensely red-themed room if he hadn't felt as though he could have lain down on the steps outside and fallen asleep right there. 

 

Percy directed the students to their respective dormitories, and Alex, Theo, and Neville would find themselves in a circular room, clearly in one of the towers, with a handful of inviting four-post beds. Overhearing the others, the students in the room mentioned their names as Dean Thomas, a dark-skinned boy with a kind face; Seamus Finnegan, a sandy-haired boy with freckles; Harry Potter, a wild-haired kid with crooked glasses; and Ron, the boy from before. 

 

Once they'd entered the common room and all had been split up into their respective dorms, it didn't take long for Theo to settle into his surroundings, despite being initially put off by Ron Weasley's presence, who pointedly ignored him and Alex altogether. 

 

Alex laid down in his bed, and turned to ask Theo what he thought about his first day, but almost immediately fell into a deep slumber. Bandit slowly crawled out from his hood, and nestled in next to him with a piece of chicken, and one of the shiny spoons from the Great Hall.

 

After noticing that Alex had already fallen asleep, Theo too quickly followed suit in peaceful slumber, his wand resting reassuringly beside his pillow.

Notes:

Leave a comment and let me know how the journey to Hogwarts made you feel! See you guys next time!

~Scyld

P.S. Changing the schedule to every two weeks starting here! Chapter 7 took way too long to edit. Please forgive me! When I'm done editing the full year I'll shorten the window again!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Weighing of the Wands