The platform where we caught the train to school was hidden behind a fairy door of sorts; I didn't know whether it had any connection to my bosses, or if it'd just been made in imitation of their work, but it only existed at specific times of the year, and only for a few hours. Still, it was surprisingly normal once you got past the barrier; the main difference, apart from the way people dressed on this side, was the bright scarlet steam engine, which immediately drew my eye despite the sky overhead having finally returned to its normal grey. I ducked inside a carriage straightaway; I'd chosen witchy robes for the walk to the station despite standing out in normal London, but the longer I lingered out in the crowd the more like an imposter I was going to seem. Better to stick with a few kids my own age at a time, to start with, now that I no longer had the cover of being a shop worker.
I'd arrived at the station early, so it wasn't hard to find an unoccupied compartment and claim it for myself; as I dropped onto a bench, though, the comfortable leather really underlined just how rich everything was compared to the last train I'd ridden. More dark wooden panelling, gleaming brass finishings, seats one could easily fall asleep in... the government had been one thing, Westminster was fancy too, but that witches could afford to spend this much on the train to school, well.
I mean, that the second-hand shops existed made it clear that I wasn't going to be the only poor student, but overall, magic definitely seemed to have a tendency to make people accustomed to luxury.
I glanced up at the still-empty luggage racks, hoping I'd made the right decision in skipping a trunk. I'd gotten way too used to pocketspace over the summer to have a hope of keeping it secret, and my pitiful remaining funds would have bought a holey, beaten-up old one at best, but I was still going to stand out. Still, if I had to pick one, it was probably better to stand out for pocketspace than for conjuring up my own clothing; the former could be explained away as accessing a hidden space or something, but the latter was very obvious magic that a skim of my first-grade spellbook (and its annotations) hadn't turned up any mention of.
Gazing out the window, I breathed in a heady mix of excitement and dread; the latter was surprisingly sparse for back-to-school day. I guess learning magic was pretty exciting even for people who grew up with it; there wasn't much regret or reluctance I could feel, either. I mean, for people who weren't me, people who had one set of parents they were properly attached to, I'd have thought going off to boarding school would be harder, but most people seemed pretty eager.
The door clacked open again, breaking my slightly morbid musings, and by the time I turned my head I was already looking at the back of a head of curly blonde shoulder-length hair as a girl, probably my supposed age, in light, short-sleeved, powder-blue robes pushed a trunk into the luggage racks with obvious effort but no lack of enthusiasm. I didn't expect much visible fitness from an eleven-year-old—my own final primary class had been either chubby or skinny, as a rule—but she edged toward that impression anyway.
She turned around as soon as she was done, crossing the compartment and dropping onto the bench right next to me, so close I had to stop myself from reflexively jerking away. Pale blue eyes, a thin nose, and a few light freckles were all I really registered at this distance. "Hi! I'm Katherine Hedges. What's your name?"
"A-Alaine Ross. Nice to meet you?"
"Yes!" Greetings complete, her casual cheer only intensified, and she made no attempt to change the distance. Now that my heart rate was slowing after the surprise, I didn't really mind, as such, it had just... been a while, since someone had willingly been that close to me, shoulders gently touching, and none of what I felt from her was really giving me an explanation for the personal space invasion. "You have pretty hair. Are you foreign?"
"No, I'm English." As far as I knew, at least; for obvious reasons, I didn't have much knowledge of my genealogy. I was English in every way that mattered, anyway. "I guess you're from a witch family?"
She nodded. "Mum is an Auror and Dad takes care of the house. He likes gardening." She tilted her head to the side, gaze briefly leaving mine to look me over again. "Does that mean you're not? You don't look like a muggleborn."
That was the idea, but I wasn't about to pretend otherwise when asked directly. Two months working in the Alley only made clear how little I knew about witchy folk. "I did try to blend in, but I am muggleborn, more or less. What's an Auror?" I asked, as much to distract her as out of curiosity; I had a vague idea of the profession from the papers.
"Dark Wizard hunters! They catch the criminals that are too dangerous for everyone else. Mum is awesome. It means she's always really busy, too, 'cause there aren't many Aurors. What about yours?"
...I really should have seen that question coming. I just... what did I even say? How could I explain my situation in a way that didn't invite awkward prying?
Jigger was going to hate me if he ever found out about this. "They're, uh, not around any more. But I learned a lot at the apothecary this summer."
"Oh. Sorry." A flicker of wariness, curiosity, then back to normal as she watched my face. "Do you like Herbology, then? I know some from helping Dad."
"Well... sort of? I mean, it's pretty neat, magical plants are a lot more interesting than normal ones, but I haven't tried growing anything yet. I've just been learning about how to handle them after they're harvested."
"I'm sure you'll be good at it at Hogwarts. Dad says most people hardly even try in that class, so the ones who care always get good grades."
"That'd sure be helpful." Any class where I didn't have to fake witchy magic to bring up my average would be. A clatter at the door drew my attention away from Katherine's too-close face, saving me from any potential need to elaborate.
"Oh, Alaine! Um, I mean, hello, is it alright if I sit here?" Euan didn't look any less like a squashed mouse than he had the last time we met, despite being in neat slacks and a crisp white shirt; he felt oddly relieved, like he'd actually been going out of his way to look for me.
I hadn't expected him to, but I didn't have any reason to refuse. "Hi Euan. Come on in. Why're you in normal clothes?"
He averted his gaze as he tried to drag a heavy, oversized trunk around the corner from the corridor. "We had to walk a while through Muggle London; Mum didn't want to draw attention. They don't suit me at all, do they...."
"Eh, they're not bad."
Katherine was almost bouncing in place next to me, but before she could interject, a tiny, short-heeled black boot appeared on the far corner of Euan's trunk and gave it a sharp shove, freeing it from where it had been wedged against the wall and sending him stumbling a step forward before he steadied himself against his luggage. "Uh, thanks?"
"You were blocking the corridor." The high, calm voice's owner came into view a second later, a girl nearly as small as me with delicate features and short black hair in a boyish cut. Like me, she was in school robes already. She took a quick look around the compartment before nodding. "Good enough. May I as well?"
That shove was a bit questionable, but since I couldn't feel any malice from her I was willing to give her a pass on the bluntness. Katherine took the decision out of my hands anyway, popping up from her seat to nod energetically. "Of course! I'm Katherine Hedges. Good to meet you!"
"Isolde Nott," she said, returning a much more graceful nod. "And you're an Abercrombie, right?"
"Ah, yes, Euan," he said, looking a bit off-balance.
"And I'm sure I wouldn't have forgotten you if we'd met," Isolde said, gaze flicking briefly up to my hair.
"Alaine Ross," I said with a small smile.
"Here, let me help you with that!" At Katherine's prompt, the four of us relatively easily shoved the two trunks up into the racks; she didn't hesitate in returning to her previous seat afterward, while Euan and Isolde maintained a more normal distance on the opposite bench.
"I can't help but notice there are only three trunks. Did one of you forget yours on the platform?" Isolde said with a pointed look at Katherine and I.
"Ah, no, I just have all my things on me." It was bound to come up eventually, and her skeptical eyebrow clearly demanded an explanation. I stuck my hand in my actual pocket, pulled out a spare robe as I conjured it, and tucked it back in.
Euan looked impressed, Katherine excited, and Isolde just confused. "You can't keep everything in expanded pockets, how would that work when you needed to wash your robes?"
"Well... they're not really in my pockets? It's more like a... personal space, I guess."
"I've never heard of that before." She felt mildly offended, although it didn't show on her face. "How does it work?"
That was a good question. "I don't actually know. It's kind of like an innate talent? It just works off of instinct."
Isolde frowned, amber eyes narrowing and fingers tensing like she wanted to clutch at the air. "How can you have something that convenient and not care how it works? You need to find out once we're at school."
"As long as it does work, it doesn't really matter how, right?" Euan offered tentatively, heels swinging under the bench.
"But I want to know."
"I'll help! It sounds interesting," Katherine said, lightly clapping her hands.
"I guess I can take a look..." I doubted we'd find anything, though. Fairy magic was close to witch magic, as far as I could tell, but pocketspace probably wouldn't be in their books.
Isolde settled her hands in her lap with a firm nod. "Thank you. Now that that's settled..."
---
The conversation turned to family as the train got underway. I already knew Euan was an only child, and apparently Katherine was as well, but Isolde had an older brother.
"Theo's in fifth year, but he still won't tell me how we're Sorted. Says it's tradition, and if he had to suffer through not knowing, so do I," she said with a petulant look.
"Sorted?"
"Into our Houses." She took in my blank look and frowned. "How do you not know this?"
I shrugged. "We only got our booklists yesterday. I didn't have any money for spares, and the only book I had to read over the summer was an herbalist's compendium."
I could feel her curiosity growing, but Euan inadvertently rescued me. "They're the dorms in Hogwarts. My parents were both in Gryffindor. I... want to be too, but I don't know if I'm...."
Katherine abruptly got to her feet and grabbed his hand in both of hers. "I'm sure you'll be fine!"
I couldn't see what kind of face she was making, although I could guess from the encouragement she was practically radiating, but Euan's wavering, halfway-panicked expression had me stifling giggles as he sat there in enforced silence.
"Or maybe not," Isolde said with a roll of her eyes.
Euan's eyes flicked from side to side, and I caught an upwelling of determination before he shifted a little straighter. "I'll do my best." It was a weak statement, but apparently enough to satisfy Katherine, as she let him go and tucked herself up next to me again.
I still wasn't clear on what this was all about. "So is it based on how well you do on a test, or something?"
"It's about what kind of person you are!" Katherine said brightly.
Isolde nodded. "Slytherin is cunning and ambition, Ravenclaw is wisdom and learning, Hufflepuff is diligence and loyalty, and Gryffindor is courage and self-sacrifice. It's how they tell that's the mystery."
Maybe it was like that Myers-Briggs thing we'd learned about in school last year... although that wasn't very magical.
---
Isolde's father was a member of the witchy Parliament, and although she didn't say it, I was getting the impression her family was old money. Euan's parents were enchanters, although his mother had apparently once been a professional athlete, which lead to a discussion of what Quidditch actually involved. I hadn't even tried parsing that section of the paper.
"It's brilliant!" Katherine waved her arms enthusiastically as she tried to convey the essence of the game, some unholy mix of football and rugby with brooms and cannonballs.
"It's chaos, is what it is," Isolde said sourly, swinging her feet. (Katherine was the only one of us whose heels reached the floor; we probably looked quite the silly group from outside.) "How anyone keeps up with it all from the middle of things is beyond me."
"You don't need to know everything, you just have to focus on the important things, and improvise."
"I've tried that. It's still impossible."
"You at least have a favourite player, right?" Katherine sounded so hopeful that Isolde's noncommittal shrug almost made me wince in sympathy with the tangible fall of her enthusiasm. "Euan? You must!"
"Ah, um, yes, Moran, probably. I don't think I'm good enough to play, but watching him at the World Cup last year kind of made me want to try."
"Ooh, yes, he's got a .63 scoring average, you know, he always seems to know exactly what he's doing. I like Leigh from the Harpies; she averaged seventeen intercepts a game last season." She turned to me, leaning forward slightly, her passion for her favourite sport shining in her eyes and tickling my tongue with something sharp that I thought might be alcoholic. "I'm sure you'll like it! There are games at school; first-years don't get to play, but we can watch them together."
That got a short laugh from Isolde, a sharp thing that effortlessly pulled my attention away from Katherine's proximity. "Unless you're Harry Potter. I was only seven and I still remember how much Theo complained about him getting on the team in first year."
"Oh, Potter plays?" Maybe I would go to a few matches...
"Apparently he's the best Seeker in the school, but that probably doesn't mean much."
---
A trolley clattered up along the corridor at some point, selling a variety of sweets; Isolde bought a whole handful, Katherine a couple Pumpkin Pasties, and Euan a few Chocolate Frogs. I took one look at the prices posted on the side and shook my head. "I'm fine, thanks." It wasn't as though I hadn't had breakfast.
"Don't you like sweets, Alaine?" Katherine asked as the woman started to move on to the next compartment.
"It's not that, although I've never tried witchy sweets; I just don't really have any money left." Bloody expensive textbook.
"Oh, then you can have one of these! They're good, I promise." Practically shoving one of the small pasties into my hands, she looked at me expectantly until I unwrapped it.
I took a tentative bite; it was essentially a more portable pumpkin pie, and I smiled back at her. "Thank you."
Euan was absorbed in studying the little cards that popped out whenever he unwrapped one of the surprisingly detailed frogs; other than the quality of the replica, they seemed to be just ordinary chocolate, so I assumed the cards were the main draw. Isolde had her mouth full of liquorice, and glared defensively at me when I looked over at her rapidly dwindling pile—although she still took the time to chew and swallow before saying anything.
"What? It's not like there's anything else to spend money on at school, not until Christmas, anyway. You can't even leave for visits until third year."
"Really? Even still, I've got next summer to worry about."
"You're saving your money for a whole year?" Isolde studied me, curiosity growing again behind narrowed amber eyes, but it didn't quite become words before she sat back, the feeling still simmering within her. "Has anyone ever told you you're a very odd person?" she asked, before popping a pale blue candy mouse into her mouth, the translucent tail dangling from her lips as she sucked on the rest with a thoughtful look.
---
Isolde nodded off halfway through the afternoon, the energy from the candy rapidly leaving her until she was leaning against the far corner, eyelids fluttering closed. Euan had slowly withdrawn from the conversation and eventually hidden behind his Transfiguration book, and Katherine had apparently taken Isolde's drowsiness as a signal to take a nap of her own, head resting on my shoulder. I hadn't felt like taking a midday nap since I was transformed, but under the circumstances... well, dozing off for a bit couldn't hurt.
I woke to an announcement that we'd be arriving in five minutes; Euan immediately dropped his book on the seat, stammered an apology, and went to stand out in the corridor. It took me a bit to catch on to his reasons, but once I did, I quickly shook Katherine awake and looked out the window while she changed robes. It was nearly dark out, and I couldn't see much other than forest and clouds. We swapped with Euan while he changed, something he did with alacrity, leaving a sleeve sticking obviously out from his trunk when we ducked back in.
The train finally pulled into the station, and now I recognized the slope outside, if vaguely; the station must be just outside Hogsmeade.
"First years line up over here, please!"
Katherine grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd of disembarking students before I could even locate the source of the voice among all the others; the others followed, and the elderly witch barking directions was soon surrounded by a crowd of eleven-year-olds radiating enough nervousness that I started pulling in the sour, salty emotion just because it was there. After a quick head-count, we were led down instead of up, arriving at a shallow beach where a number of oversized coracles were drawn up on the shore.
"Four to a boat, now, and carefully, if you please."
Well, that was convenient. Our little group climbed into the nearest one; I caught Isolde rolling her eyes as she took her seat and raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently someone actually fell into the lake last year."
Euan ran a hand over the weave testingly, putting a bit of weight on it as he leaned in, more curious than nervous. "Surely they would have balancing charms on them?"
I eyed his attempts warily, shifting my weight a little further back to compensate until Katherine put a firm arm around my shoulders and held me in place.
"I'm sure they're fine as long as we sit still."
"I was just balancing it out..." My voice may have been a bit petulant. It was awkward enough being chastised by a younger girl, and even stranger with the height difference making her feel older.
The professor called out a command to the boats once we were all settled, and they slipped almost soundlessly the rest of the way into the water and set off at a brisk pace across the lake. Hogwarts twinkled down on us from the other side, the hundred glowing windows a much more impressive sight than it had seemed in the daytime. The others probably hadn't seen it before at all; I wasn't surprised that there was little talk during the trip as we drank in the view.
Eventually we were delivered to an underground dock, escorted up the stairs to the massive entrance hall I remembered from my last visit, briefly delayed in a side chamber while the stern, black-haired Professor McGonagall gave us a slightly more detailed version of the Houses explanation I'd gotten earlier, and finally led into the Great Hall, where even whispered conversation was abruptly cut off by the weight of hundreds of eyes.
The Hall itself was probably the most impressive magical room I'd seen yet; five great tables covered in golden tableware were only the beginning. Countless candles floated in the air, and massive columns, flanked by imposing statuary with a level of detail made possible only by magic, held up a ceiling that almost seemed not to be there at all with the way it was an exact replica of the cloudy sky outside, complete with scattered patches of stars.
And for me alone, the gathered crowd was a feast perhaps more potent than any due to be served tonight. Anticipation and curiosity were paramount, but excitement and a thread of hostile disdain were also sharp enough for me to draw on in noticeable quantities. I devoted a portion of my attention to pulling in useful amounts of all of them, enough to fuel practice or be useful in classes, but the rest was quickly captured by the battered old witch's hat Professor McGonagall placed on a stool in clear view of everyone present.
It seemed the instrument of our doom was to be a singing hat.
Now, to be fair to the hat, it had a surprising amount of musical talent for an article of clothing, I'd already seen equally odd things (serpentine tape-measures deserved a mention), and it beat writing a personality test. But its song was clearly more than a recorded ditty, and the vague warnings of coming danger filled the hall with an undercurrent of unease even as the student body broke into applause. The Sorting Hat, at least, was equally as worried about the You-Know-Lord as the fairies were.
But it still had a job to do, and one by one, our names were called, and the Hat was placed on our heads, only to shortly shout out the name of our House. Poor Euan was called first of all, looking back at us for reassurance before walking up on wavering legs to the centre of attention. He got his wish, though; the shout of 'Gryffindor!' echoed through the Great Hall loudly enough to reach every corner despite the background murmurs. Katherine went to Hufflepuff, looking pleased, and Isolde took her seat primly in Slytherin, feeling a bit put-out when I focused on her. A bit disappointing that I'd be with only one of them at best; they'd already started to grow on me. But to be honest, I didn't have any idea where I belonged, so all I could do was leave it up to the Hat.
'Now what do we have here, hmm...' The tiny voice in my ear was clearly for me alone, the Hat working whatever magic it had to see what kind of person I was. I hadn't heard anyone else talking back to it, so I kept my peace as it had its look. 'No hesitation to act here, eh? But it's not bravery that drives you. And you hold secrets like a banker with an inclination to charity; no Slytherin for you. Well-used to relying on your own efforts, but it's duty pushing you forward, not pride. I do believe you'll grow best in...'
The abrupt shout of 'Hufflepuff!' in my ear startled me, and the stool wobbled dangerously for a moment, a few laughs mixing in with the obligatory applause. Pulling the hat off, I strode quickly over to where Katherine was very visibly making space for me at the table, sliding onto the bench next to her with a smile. At least I hadn't ended up all alone in Ravenclaw.
Free of the waiting, I joined my new house in applauding the rest of our year, and when the last of them was settled, the truly-impressively-bearded wizard at the head table, wearing the showiest robes I'd ever seen, rose to speak. Sitting where he was, and with the instant quiet he garnered just from the simple motion, this was obviously Headmaster Dumbledore himself. A man I was supposed to be spying on, a man I'd fluffed up a recent obligation to and didn't really want the direct attention of, and also a man who may or may not be losing his marbles. I supposed this was a good time to start finding out what he was like in person.
He beamed with genuine cheer as he spread his arms, looking for all the world like there was nowhere else he'd rather be and actually meaning it; it was the joy and contentment of someone at the height of their life's work, and I was honestly impressed.
Then he briefly bade us welcome, summoned the food, and drowned the moment in anticlimax.
Katherine apparently caught my slump as we turned back to the food, a veritable king's feast of roasts, pies, potatoes, and vegetables, spiced fit to set my mouth watering even though I'd had breakfast and lunch today.
"Is something wrong, Alaine?"
"Ah, not really, I was just expecting something... more than that?" I gestured vaguely at the Headmaster, who was already filling his own plate.
She looked up at where I was indicating, a flicker of confusion passing by. "He seemed very sensible to me."
"Aha, I guess that's true..." Defeated, I turned my attention to the food, picking out bits of the best-looking dishes. If I piled my plate like some of the other students at the table, I'd get sick for sure after two months of minimal meals. At least no one was outright stuffing their face, or talking with their mouth full...
Now that I noticed it, that was downright unusual. I watched some of the other first-years nearby, some of whom were chattering away but most of whom were occupied with the admittedly impressive spread. It took a few minutes longer for the two to intersect, and as a boy I vaguely recalled being a Weirbrook or something delivered a garbled reply through a mouthful of potatoes, sure enough, one of the prefects scattered among the younger years gently called him out on it.
My brow wrinkled as I picked at my meal. On the one hand, I didn't have fond memories of people policing my table etiquette. On the other, it didn't look like they weren't being that strict about it, and it meant not having to see the contents of anyone's mouth at mealtimes.
"Are you feeling alright there, Ross?" The unexpected words of concern came from a button-nosed blonde just across the table, the badgery badge with its emblazoned 'P' declaring that she was actually rather short for her age despite easily looking down at me.
"Yes...?" Either my confusion was showing or I wasn't convincing, as she offered a gentle smile.
"You're not looking very enthusiastic for the start-of-term feast, is all. I know I found Hogwarts very overwhelming when I first arrived, but it really is a wonderful place."
I nodded, smiling back. "It is very impressive. I usually don't eat very much, is all."
"I can tell! I'm Hannah Abbott, by the way, fifth year prefect. Most days aren't like the Welcoming Feast, but there's always plenty of food, so don't worry about taking whatever you feel like."
"Mhm." I ducked my head a little and took another bite. It wasn't like I didn't want to hurry up and grow up again... I just wasn't sure how much the food would really help. It was good, though.
Eventually even the desserts disappeared from the plates (I'd pocketed a couple in the initial rush) and Dumbledore rose to his feet again to give some more traditional announcements. There were apparently new teachers for Care of Magical Creatures (the woman who'd led us to the boats), and Defense Against the Dark Arts (a short, squat woman dressed as though she wished she were my fairy boss and a few decades too old to pull it off—and honestly, who wore a cardigan over witchy robes?). He went on to announce Quidditch tryouts, only to be interrupted by the professor he had just introduced—and I didn't need fairy magic to feel the shock that went around the hall at that.
Dumbledore played it off, sitting down and giving her his attention, but while he had a near-perfect poker face, I could feel the frustration and resignation coiling within him. Small things, but he did not actually like this woman and her speech was clearly unplanned. I shifted in my seat a little, studying Professor Umbridge as closely as I could.
As far as speeches went, I'd heard worse on the telly. Her sugary opening comments matched her outfit if not her looks, and she was actually a little disappointed at the lack of apparent enthusiasm from the student body, but the bulk of it was a long and tedious screed that sounded like it was written by a politician and delivered by an aging social worker. Despite my efforts, I was certain some of it went over my head, but there was a lot of emphasis on preserving the 'right' traditions, prohibiting dangerous and wrongheaded new ideas, and a great deal in the same vein that had nothing, as far as I could tell, to do with the subject she was teaching. In short, if I'd learned anything from Dad #3, she was a Tory.
Aaand also a government inspector, which was probably more important. I clearly wasn't the only spy at Hogwarts.
