Start of Year One

The two boys stood beside each other, staring up at the old brick wall, the sounds of the tavern behind them echoing in the small enclosed space. One was slightly taller then the other, with starling silver hair that reflected the light of the lantern behind them. The other was a slightly stockier blonde boy, with the tips of his hair frosted green. They both surveyed the seemingly ordinary wall in front of them with great confusion and intrigue.

It wasn't too much long before a third, much taller boy joined them, stumbling slightly as he burst through the back door of the pub. He was thin and gangly, with shaggy red hair that looked like it had recently tried to be neatened to no avail. "H-hey there, Nick..." The boy panted, doubled over with his hands on his knees. David Bronzcert, relieved to be finally separated from his father, smiled at the silver haired boy from the village over.

"Hey David," Nicholas Silvermane muttered. He turned around a few moments later, gesturing to the boy standing beside him. "Oh, this is Riley, by the way. He's a family friend."

Riley Vangr nodded, extending his hand out to David. "How's it going."

David regathered his breath and straightened up, standing two or three inches above the others as he adjusted his collar. "Oh, um, it's a pleasure to meet you." The redhead shook Riley's hand, which he continued shaking for just awkwardly too long as he looked back over his shoulder. After a shadow had moved from behind the foggy glass window, David exhaled, running his hands over his face as he slouched down beside the others.

"So, David," Riley began, leaning against a pile of crates to his left, "Do you know how to get in?"

David nodded slowly. "You uh, well you tap certain bricks with your wand..."

"Great. Thank you. Incredibly helpful, seeing as none of us have wands." Riley muttered. David nodded, shuffling awkwardly on his feet.

"Even if we did, we wouldn't know which bricks to tap," Nick sighed, blowing his fringe out his face. "Riley are your parents still here?"

Riley shook his head. "Mum is, but she's a muggle, so... You guys?"

Nick shook his head, "Nope." The two boys turned to David.

David swallowed. "Nope, gone, sorry." He said, almost two quickly. "Did someone want to go ask someone inside for help?" They all looked back at the door for a moment, their pride and social awkwardness fighting internally whilst they debated it. After a moment, they looked back at the wall. Only seconds after they'd turned their backs on it, the door flew open, and a small, orange shape barrelled out, slamming into David and sending him crashing into the ground.

"Sorry!" A young girl squeaked, rolling off Davids back and scrambling to her feet, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Clearly." Riley muttered under his breath.

The girl glared at him for a moment from under a veil of curly ginger hair, which she then pulled back behind her ears. She then turned back to David, who had just picked himself up off the ground, and was trying to brush the dirt off a previously pristine white shirt. "Are you alright?"

David's head jerked up, then made its way back down to stare at the girl, who only stood at little over half his height. "Oh, uh, m-me? I-I, uh, I'm... I'm fine... You?" His voice cracked, and his hand instinctively darted to his throat, which he massaged gently.

"I'm fine..." The girl said slowly, raising an eyebrow before turning to Nick, "You three here for school supplies too?"

"No, we just like to hang out in crowded back alleys behind taverns." Riley answered. Nick smirked, and David forced an uneasy smile.

Nick shook his head, "Sorry, yeah. First year. I'm Nick, by the way. This is Riley, and the human crash pad is David." Riley nodded in greeting, and David gave a half hearted wave.

"Well, I'm Genevieve." The ginger girl smiled, bowing low before shaking Nicks outstretched hand. "It's my first year too." Before more pleasantries could be exchanged, there was a low grinding sound, and the four children turned to see the brick wall folding itself away, revealing a wizened looking old man in purple cloak.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting." He chuckled, pushing through the small group and entering the pub behind them.

Riley glanced at the others, before ducking through the open wall and into the hidden magical street beyond. "Finally." He muttered as he passed. Nick shrugged, and stepped inside, with David hurrying after them. Now left alone, Genevieve darted into the alley, disappearing inside a storefront.

Once inside Diagon Alley, the three boys made their way from shop to shop, collecting the necessary school items listed from the letter they had received from Hogwarts several weeks ago. After collecting their goods, the trio met up at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. They sat down placing their acquired supplies around a small foldable table outside the pastel shop front. Nick had a snow white ferret sitting around his shoulder and a rather expensive looking black owl slept in a cage amidst Davids bags.

They spent a while talking excitedly about the school year to come, David finally beginning to warm up to Riley's company. The redhead pulled a small pocket watch out of his jacket, which Riley snickered at. David dropped his ice cream on the ground, piling up his bags in his arms.

"Woah, what's going on?" Riley asked, pushing his chair out of the way.

"Sorry, I have to go," David said distractedly, glancing at the brick wall, which remained solid at this point in time, "Nice to meet you." He gestured towards Riley.

Nick moved to pick up his own bags, "Well, you know we can come with you—"

"No." David said quickly. He eased up a little, "I mean, you know it's fine, really," he stumbled slightly under the weight of his bags, "I guess I'll see you guys on the train." The redhead charged towards the wall. Less than a minute after he'd made it to the wall, the bricks folded themselves away, revealing a tall, stern looking man, with dark red hair. Nick and Riley watched as the man said something to David, and the pair walked away.

"So, what's his deal?" Riley asked, eyeing the wall as it closed up once again, concealing the tavern beyond.

Nick exhaled, "I mean, honestly? No idea. I only see him every now and then, when he pops up in the village down the road." He said, using a napkin to wipe ice cream off his fingers, "He's a nice enough guy, but he doesn't talk much."

"Really, I couldn't tell." Riley muttered, returning to his large chocolate sundae.

* * * * *

Nick stood in Kings Cross Station, beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten, waiting for his friends to arrive. David arrived first, wandering the through the large building alone, looking extremely lost. His worried expression relaxed when he spotted Nick, who waved to him. A few minutes later, Riley arrived, bidding goodbye to his parents, and passing through the muggle ticket scanners.

"Who wants to go first?" Nick asked nervously, eyeing the yellow bricks making up the barrier.

Riley raised his hand slightly, "I'll go." He muttered, taking a few steps back as the others moved out of his way. Taking off at a jog, Riley pushed his trolley full of luggage towards the brick pillar, passing through the seemingly solid brick.

"I-I guess I'll go next then." David shrugged, adjusting his sweater. He took a deep breath and began running towards the wall. Less then a metre away, his trolley wheel snagged on a small stone, sending it crashing into the corner of the barrier. David was catapulted over the handlebars due to the sudden stop and tumbled several metres, over the edge of a platform,  onto a set of railroad tracks.

  The young teen pushed himself up on the steel tracks, spitting fine bits of dirt rock from between his teeth as the gravel dug into his knees. His vision was blurred slightly, and through the ringing in his ears he could hear people screaming on the platform above him. A low rumbling passes through the ground beneath him, getting stronger by the second. A sound assaulted his ears. David looked behind him to see a large shape steadily growing as a train sped down the tunnel. He swore loudly, sprinting across the tracks.

"Here!" Nick screamed at him, dangling his arm over the edge of the concrete platform. David grasped at his friends hand, being pulled from the tracks mere seconds before the train flew past, wind blowing past them. David was swearing in what seemed to be Gaelic with an incredibly heavy accent as both boys lay panting on the tiled floor.

Nick stood up, pulling David to his feet and restacking their items on the trolley. They wheeled themselves out of the immediate area, and returned a few minutes later when the panic had died down. Carefully this time, both boys disappeared through the barrier one after another, appearing inside the magnificent Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
"What took you so long?" Riley sighed, glancing at his watch as they unpacked their trolleys together

"I don't want to talk about it..." David said horsely, any trace of his sudden accent vanishing as he clambered up the steps onto the crimson Hogwarts Express.

The boys found an empty compartment and sat down, storing their luggage in the overhead compartments. Seconds later, there was a knock on the glass behind them. The three of them turned to see the girl from Diagon Alley, Genevieve, standing in the doorway. "Howdy," She said quietly. She twisted the toes of her shoes into the carpeted floor for a moment, no looking anyone in the eye. "Everywhere else is kinda full and uh... Well I don't know anyone else. Do you mind if it sit in here?"

"Yes. We do." Riley said flatly. There was a brief moment of silence as Genevieve turned to leave. "Na, I'm kidding, I really don't care." The boy shrugged, throwing himself against a seat and staring out the window.

Genevieve eyed him cautiously for a moment, before storing away her luggage, and sitting down, a small white and brown cat leaping up from the floor onto her lap. The girl removed her pet from her lap and placed it on the chair beside her, where it began clawing at Davids leg.

"So what happened to you?" Nick asked, glancing at the rip across Genevieve's sweater.

She smiled. "It's a... It's a long story." She paused for a moment. "Just don't go past the compartment with the second year Slytherins." The three boys nodded slowly as she took what appeared to be a small, recently exploded firework out of her pocket, reached over and tossed it out the window. The compartment was quiet as the train pulled out from the station.

"So..." David said after a while, breaking the silence. "H-How was everyone's summer?"
Nick and Riley leapt at the chance of conversation, and eventually, Genevieve joined in too, the four trading stories, and getting to know each other as specks of rain began to gather on the outside of the cabin window.

There was a knock on the cabin door, and they looked up in time to see and elderly lady push open the glass panel.
"Anything from the trolley dears?" The old woman asked.

They glanced between themselves, eagerly eyeing the trolley laden with an assortment of magical sweets. Each produced a small number of silver and bronze coins, expect for David, who produced one large gold galleon, and insisted on buying the others at least something each. As the trolley left, they leant back, digging into their new pile of Chocolate Frogs and Pepper Imps

Large droplets of rain were now hammering against the grimy window, the countryside beyond barely visible behind a thick veil of fog. "Well," Genevieve muttered, interrupting a conversation between Riley and David about Quidditch teams, "I'm gonna go get changed into my robes." The boys shrugged, agreeing distractedly, before returning to their discussion. Genevieve rolled her eyes, before fishing her robes out from the compartments above.

The rain began to clear over time, and the train pulled onto the platform, the suns last visible rays seeping over the rooftops of small stone cottages in the village on the other side of the platform. A giant man stepped onto the platform, a lantern swinging from his hand in the breeze. "First Years!" He bellowed, his deep voice echoing across the mass of students. David, Nick, Riley and Genieve pushed towards him along with the other first years. "Follow me now." He called out, leading the group away from the station. The thick moleskin coat flapping around his knees flicked a boy in the face, leaving a red welt.

"Stupid idiot." Riley heard him mutter as their small group walked past. "Should be looking after students." He moved to make a rude gesture towards the boy, but was interrupted when David let out a low grunt, the man's coat whipping him in the face as well.

The towering figure directed them to the edge of a lake, where dozens of small boats sat bobbing against its inky black surface. The man sorted them into groups of four and set them into boats. He tapped a large pink umbrella against the beach, and the boats pulled away from the shore, sailing towards the centre of the lake. Nick, Riley, David and Genevieve looked up from their conversation at the sound of gasps coming from the surrounding students. A magnificent castle sat upon a cliff, the flickering lights from thousands of windows shimmering against the water below.

"So that's Hogwarts." Nick breathed, looking around at his smiling new friends.

Genevieve nudged David with her elbow, nodding at Riley, who was deep in conversation with Nick. She pulled from her pocket a small fake spider, and flicked it at Riley. The boy jerked backwards as the bug hit his face, and toppled overboard. The girl snickered as David smiled nervously, their guide rowing his own boat backwards in order to fish a flailing Riley out of the freezing lake. "Honestly. Every single year..." He grunted, throwing his coat at Riley, the weight of which almost knocked him back out of the small boat.

The first years floated into a cave in the cliff face, ancient looking wooden docks emerging from the eroded rock. The students collected on a jetty, before being lead through a passageway up into the lower parts of the castle. Paintings murmured at them from the walls above, whispering the names of houses and seemingly placing bets on students. The man lead them into an entrance hall, a pair of large oak double doors looming above them. Riley pulled on the man's sleeve, and handed him back his coat, running his hand through his still dripping hair. The giant man chuckled warmly, wringing out the coat.

A middle aged man scrambled out from behind the wooden doors, adjusting the pointed hat atop his head. "Good evening!" He said stoically. His pure excitement was visible only in the twinkling of his eyes, masked behind the somber expression. "My name is Professor Longbottom, head of Gryffindor House here at Hogwarts. In a moment, you will walk through these doors and be sorted into your houses. After which, you will join your houses at their tables. Is everyone ready?" He looked over the heads of nervous students, and turned back to the room he just left. "Good." He clicked his fingers and the double doors flung open. Without missing a beat he walked through, leading the troop of children through the dining hall.

The ceiling above them shimmered with all the stars of the night sky, the occasional droplets of rain falling from patches of dark clouds, bouncing harmlessly off an invisible barrier. Professor Longbottom sped up, leaving the students in the centre of the hall, older students whispering at them from the two long house tables on either side. David glanced up at the series of teachers sitting at the head table, the four house banners behind them flanking a central Hogwarts banner. Professor Longbottom placed an old tattered wizards hat onto a stool, scraps of loose fabric dangling towards the floor. A large rip above the hats brim split open, threads dangling from the corners. And then, to the students surprise, the hat began to sing...

"For years I've been here,
Sorting the houses four,
Through night and day,
Through peace and war,

Though tattered and torn,
Through rips and stains,
I've been here through all,
And the houses remain,

The bravest of brave,
To Gryffindor!
For courage to rule,
Forevermore,

The intelligent bunch,
To Ravenclaw!
For wisdom and riddles,
To lie in store,

The loyal and patient,
To Hufflepuff!
The ones that are wanted,
Are fair and tough,

And the cunning and prideful,
To Slytherin!
For ambition and secrets,
Await with in,

But which for you,
I must decide,
Which house each student,
Will forever reside..."

The hall was silent as the hat finished its song. Then, spontaneously, the haul erupted into applause. Genevieve felt that if the hat could bow, it would. It's fabricated face rested with a content expression as it waited. Professor Longbottom pulled a long parchment from his robes, cleared his throat, and began to read the names of students aloud. "Emily Abertha!"

A short blonde girl stumbled up and sat on the stool. The Professor placed the hat on top of her head, it's brim sinking down to her nose. The hat muttered to himself, it's cloth mouth moving, it's words indistinguishable words echoing . It paused. "HUFFLEPUFF!" It called, it's voice echoing around the hall. Cheers erupted from the Hufflepuff table, the yellow and black banners suddenly flapping wildly above them. Emily scrambled towards the table, students welcoming her and shaking her hand.

The professor continued to call out names. "William Alcove! Tabitha Artman! Nichols Bracken!" The students in turn were sorted, with varying consideration from the Sorting Hat. "David Bronzcert!"

David gulped, his feet rooted to the marble floor. Nick nudged him in the ribs, jogging up to the stool. Professor Longbottom placed the hat on his head, where it sat perfectly. David didn't like this, as now he could see everyone watching him. As if sensing his thoughts, the hat slowly slid down his forehead, the brim shielding his vision. David felt the hats deep voice echo in his head. "Well, aren't you an interesting case." It rumbled. "Not brave at all, no. Certainly not a Gryffindor. Not that you want to be there anyway, do you... Fairly cunning however. Great ambition, but it's... Lacking. Slytherin would love to have you, if only it were opened up... Loyalty lies within you. But intelligent. Yes, very intelligent. Good memory for academics. Better be..." David waited on the hats decision, shaking slightly and digging his fingernails into the stool. "RAVENCLAW!" The Professor swept the hat off David's head as he walked over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Nicholas Silvermane!"

The silver haired preteen wandered over casually, allowing the hat to sink down over his eyes, it's draping ribbons and falling over his shoulders. The hat was silent for a while, it's voice being heard neither by Nick or the crowd. He jumped as the silvery voice slipped into his mind. "Brave." It purred. "Very brave. An urge to prove oneself. A lion inside, one might say... But no. A tactician at heart. The world laid out in your mind like pieces on a board, just needing to be moved into the right place. Oh, what to do, what to do." The hat paused once again. "Well, I do suppose... RAVENCLAW!" David visibly relaxed in his chair as Nick took his place beside him.

The sorting continued for a few more names, before, "Riley Vangr!" echoed across the hall.

Riley made his way confidently up to the chair. The hat sank down, nearly covering his whole face. He moved to push it up with slightly his hands, before Professor Longbottom swatted them away with the rolled up parchment. There was a chuckle from the surrounding hall. "Hmmm. Bravery isn't the word to describe you is it, now? Cocky, I'd call it. Perhaps a little too cocky perhaps. But there is potential. A lot of potential. The way the words weave tapestries in your mind. Yes, I see it clearly now. RAVENCLAW!" Riley bounded from the chair the moment the hat was removed from his head, and sat next to Nick, people reaching across and patting them on the back. The hall returned to silence as more names got called. The boys tuned out of most until.

The three boys whispered amongst themselves, along with the rest of the tables as names continued to be read aloud. Professor Longbottom paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow at the list as the names reached the end of the alphabet. The older witch at the centre of the head table cleared her throat. The Professor shook his head. "Genevieve Weasley!"

There was some muttering at the head table. A small man with spectacles said something to the thin redheaded teacher beside to him, who shrugged bemused as he watched Genevieve approach the stairs. The hat began speaking again inside her ear. "Well, another Weasley," The hat whispered inside redheads ear. "Yes, I've had plenty of your clan pass through here. But you're a different breed aren't you. Or at least, you wish to be. Mischevious, yes, but I've seen that before. Cunning, yes, very much so. Perhaps Slytherin? The first of your kind? But witty. Quite witty. Too much for your own good. And intelligent to boot, if you choose to be so. Well, I think the best place for you..." The hat paused "RAVENCLAW!" There was a cheer from the Ravenclaw table. The redheaded teacher stood up, clapping, and surveying the girl with great interest.

The final names were called, and the rest of the students joined the ranks of the Hogwarts houses. Professor Longbottom removed the stool and hat and the woman in the centre of the table stood up, her emerald robes shimmering in the light of the hundreds of floating candles above their heads.

"Welcome!" She called out, the hall falling silent. "To all of our new students, we welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And to all of our returning students, a hearty welcome back. Before we begin the feast, I would like to make a few announcements. Firstly, we would like to welcome our new temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Charlie Weasley." The redheaded teacher stood up, waving to the students. "Second, the forbidden forest is still out of bounds for those who would like to keep their limbs." Some of the students laughed. The serious look on the Headmistress's face gave the four kids the impression she was in fact completely serious. "And finally, to the select number of students attempting to smuggle Filibusters Fireworks into the school must directly be told to cease this action immediately, or they will be dealt with." Genevieve tried to hide her grin behind her hand at the Ravenclaw table. "And so, without further ado," The Headmistress called, "Let the feast begin."

The Headmistress waved her hand, and out of nowhere, row upon row of food appeared on the golden plates in front of them, stacks of dishes and baskets covering the blue and bronze tablecloth decorating the Ravenclaw table. The four first year students dug in, officially beginning their first year at Hogwarts...