The Magic Inside Us.

"Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry", Raphael Santiago smiled shortly, shaking his head. Whilst most kids of Raphael's age wanted the next action figure or the next biggest toy, Raphael, for as long as he can remember, had wanted to be a student at Hogwarts. It is possible that Raphael could have wanted to go for the name itself and its quality of teaching, but truthfully it was because he loved the freedom that this school would allow him.

Raphael had always known that he would go to Hogwarts; so when he got his acceptance letter on his eleventh birthday, Raphael was not shocked. In fact, he was overjoyed with excitement. The only individuals who were shocked by this letter were Raphael's younger brothers, all four of them. This state of shock that their older brother, their protector, would be leaving them did not dissipate from the young boys until Raphael was saying his final goodbyes and boarding the train to Hogwarts. Raphael was visibly upset at the concept of leaving his familia but he was too excited at this new start to worry too much.

His half-blood lifestyle, however, did not prepare him for the chaotic experience that would be boarding the train. Quickly, Raphael bid them goodbye giving his mamá Guadalupe a long hug goodbye and his brother's quick kisses on their forehead before rushing into the train in search of a seat.

The train was, busy to say the least. Excited first years were running down the corridors, a few fifth years were slowly trudging to a compartment looking like they needed a coffee or an awakening potion.

It was then at this moment that Raphael realised that he did not know what to do, not anymore at least. All his life he had been excited to finally sit on a seat on the Hogwarts express on his way for his first year, but now he was sad that he was alone and did not have a buddy to sit with. With this melancholic thought, Raphael opened a small empty compartment to his right, slipping inside it and dropping gracefully onto the seat. At this point, the noise began to quiet and Raphael could begin to hear all of the students rushing to find seats on the train. It was quiet and peaceful which Raphael did not often have with his four younger brothers. But that all changed when a young boy, the same age as himself burst into the compartment.

"Isn't this all just incredible? We are on our way to a magic castle! We are going to be performing magic, I didn't even know I had magic and suddenly I kept making the strings on my guitar fly off when I got angry or moving my glasses into my hand when I was lazy. Then I got this letter saying that I have been accepted into a school of magic! Man-" The boy shook his head in a way that expressed tranquillity and happiness- "I can't believe I am actually here!" At the blank look that Raphael gave him, he continued.

"Sorry. Where are my manners, Simon Lewis at your service!" He shoved his hand towards Raphael who stared at it blankly before taking it carefully and shaking Simon's hand.

Raphael removed his hand and nervously wiped it down his trousers, he looked up at this boy realising that yes, Simon was quite attractive. No, not 'quite attractive' he was almost kind of hot. Suppressing the desire to lean up and kiss the boy, he gave Simon a tight-lipped smile, nodding his head, "Raphael Santiago".

Simon gave a wide grin, happily inserting himself into the seat next to Raphael. Raphael looked up at the boy with a shy smile looking him straight into his eyes; he hadn't noticed before, but Simon had the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

Just at Simon's gaze flickered to Raphael's lips, a group of three, one girl and two boys, tumbled into the compartment; causing Simon and Raphael to spring apart. They landed on the ground in front of Simon and Raphael's feet one on top of another; the girl being on top of the pile, next a boy with bright Blonde hair and finally a boy with jet black hair and bright blue eyes laying at the bottom of the dog-pile. The girl with dark black hair and beautiful tanned skin was the first to stand, brushing the dust from her flowery dress she smiled brightly at the two boys. "Hello boys, I am Isabelle Lightwood but you can call me Izzy! These two morons-" she pointed to the ground and rolled her eyes in disgust- "are my two brothers; Alec and Jace. Before you say it, yes Jace is adopted." The boy, Jace, with the Golden eyes and sandy blonde hair, gave an affronted look towards the girl before shaking his head and standing up. Jace turned around and pulled the other boy up, Alec the boy with the dark black hair and beautiful blue eyes, before smirking at Simon and Raphael. "So what are your names?"

Raphael looked towards Simon with a lost expression on his face; Raphael wasn't used to such loud people who created such a mess. However before he could introduce himself, Simon did it for him.

"Well, hi! I'm Simon and I'm a first year. This is Raphael, we just met; he's also a first year and he's really attractive even when he looks like he wants to kill someone." Simon stopped, he looked up horrified towards the new-comers and sunk back into the seat pretending that he hadn't said anything. Raphael looked down at Simon and smiled, he reached over and rubbed a few circles in a comforting gesture on Simon's knee before retracting his hand and glaring at the new-comers.

Alec moved next, he sat down on the seat diagonal to Raphael staring at the exchange happening between the two boys. He pulled at his collar awkwardly and shuffled nervously, hunching over himself. "Sorry about bursting in here, we didn't see the two of you and there are no other compartments, but you two seem alright. If Izzy hadn't already mentioned I'm her brother but more explicitly her twin; although I'm older than her by four hours as she was stubborn even at birth." Alec's mouth twitches slightly at the end before his face goes back to the impasse look that he seems to have perfected.

Alec gave a bored look, pointing towards the blonde haired boy, "This is Jace."

Jace glared at Alec, he ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head and tutting as he slowly spoke, "Izzy got a whole speech and I get three words. Wow, Alec, I can feel the love." He laughs before addressing the room with a bored tone, "I'm Jace. Yes, my eyes and hair are naturally this colour. I know I’m fit, however, if you want to stare at me more you can always take a photo.”

Raphael's head turned to Simon, who looked at Jace with a certain curiosity as if he knew him or someone like him. With this look, Simon moved closer to Raphael leaving no gaps between them as their whole bodies leant against one another. In Raphael's eyes, they seemed to almost fit perfectly next to one another.

Whilst Raphael pondered this thought, the three siblings took the seats parallel to them. This left only two seats in their carriage. One next to Alec and one next to Simon which would be sat directly opposite to Alec. At this rate, Raphael was convinced that they would have a full carriage which would not allow him to have a peaceful nap on the way to the castle.

The lack of peace, however, was made worse by the two new individuals who similarly just like the siblings fell onto the floor of the carriage. Instead of twins, there was a girl and a boy. The girl had bright flowing fiery hair which seemed to move like water when she moved. However next to her was a boy, who was plucked and preened to perfection. His makeup was done with a flawless technique that seemed to make his tanned skin shine in the carriage. The boy stood up, wiping the dirt from his charcoal black trousers and standing, he pulled the girl up with him who seemed to be the smallest eleven-year-old that Raphael had ever seen, as they waved in sync.

"Hi, I'm Clary Fairchild." Which was closely followed by, "Hello, my name is Magnus Bane."
The group collectively said their introductions as they went around in a circle. Magnus was hardly listening, he was too busy staring at the tall boy with blue eyes and dark jet black hair. Magnus turned to the boy, he shoved his hand forward, "I'm Magnus Bane and what is your name darling?"

Alec spluttered a loud cough, his eyes wide in panic. "I'm Alec." Magnus released Alec's hand, smirking at Alec's reaction, "Is Alec short for anything?"

Alec did a quick jerk of a nod before speedily whispering "Alexander. Alexander Gideon Lightwood." Magnus' smirk widened, he turned his body ready to sit next to Alec when Clary sat there to make it easier to continue her introductions with Izzy. Magnus frowned and went to sit next to Sherwin? Or was it Sheldon? No, it was Simon.

Alec smirked to himself at this and smiled when Magnus took the seat opposite him. Alec took his book 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan, out from his bag, placing it on his lap as he got comfortable. It was a muggle book that Alec bought at the train station before their arrival to the platform, this was because of Jace purposefully taking his book out of his bag in hope that Alec would socialise instead. Swiftly, Alec became entranced with the strange muggle novel and gave into his imagination, he imagined young Briony watching her sister by the lake and Cecilia slowly falling in love with Robbie, her housekeeper's son.

However, when Alec managed to pull himself out of his book for a few moments at a time, he would constantly see Magnus watching him with a look that Alec could not understand. Each time would cause Alec to blush a bright pink which went from his face and ears to his chest, which he would cause him to quickly look away from this beautiful boy sat opposite him.

The new found group began loud conversations with one another, creating enough noise that it would be heard by the 7th years who sat towards the back of the train who would whine and moan about the 'over enthusiastic first years who cannot keep quiet'. With this, Jace stood up looking out of the window at the passing scenery, the conversations in the carriage grinding to a halt. Jace spoke with clear conviction, clarity and clearness as he spoke confidently, "Let's all get to know each other." His eyes swept the room, looking at each individual's eyes, "Also, before you say it, Alec, you must participate as well.'

Alec rolled his eyes, he stashed his book back into his bag before leaning back into his seat. The rest of the group all moved closer together, getting comfortable and removing any items from the seat that would hinder this. Jace once again spoke loudly addressing the group, "Everyone comfortable? Great. I'll begin."

Jace sat down, "We are going to play a game which I played at a party once called 'Never have I ever'. Although, I'll change the rules slightly. Have any of you played it?" Jace's eyes scanned the room, noticing that none of the gang raised a hand. Jace sighed wistfully shaking his head, "Okay, I'll say something and if it applies to you put your hand up. Okay? For example 'Pure-blood?' So if you have two magical parents, you raise your hand." Alec, Izzy, Jace, Clary and Magnus all raised their hands Magnus doing so slowly and sadly, this left Simon and Raphael as being the only two with their hands down.

Jace smiled again, this time looking at Raphael and Simon, "Are you both Half-bloods?" Raphael's eyes turned to slits, watching Jace cautiously "Yes, mi padre was a wizard, my mum is a muggle." Simon, however, looked utterly confused, "Neither of my parents are wizards, in fact, they're both lawyers and badass ones at that. What does that make me?" Jace's eyes flashed with something unrecognisable to the group before it left his features, a hint of a smirk was left in its wake. He shrugged his shoulders, leaning back against his seat, conversationally he spoke "A mudblood."

Alec's eyes widened his mouth dropping open in disgust, "Jace!" A multitude of voices shouted at the boy, Alec's teeth ground together spitting out a small, and “You cannot call someone that." Simon's face continued to give an expression of utter confusion, he turned to Raphael muttering a small, "What is a mudblood?" Raphael's mouth clamped shut, he glared at Jace wrapping an arm around Simon before speaking slowly "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born, someone with non-magic parents. It is despicable to refer to someone as that."

At this point, Clary stood up grabbing one of Jace's ears forcing him to look at her, her face like thunder as she spoke with a dangerous tone to her voice, "Apologise to Simon right now, Jace. Don't make me make you." Jace gasped at the force, strength and speed that this girl posed with her small frame and height. His face quickly recovered and he let his bottom lip drop and his eyes widen at her in an attempt to look irresistible. He sized her up, his golden eyes visually stripping her and mapping out the curves in her tiny frame, he smirked letting his smooth voice come out, "Hey baby, I’d like to see you try and make me apologise."

With no warning, Clary had released Jace's ear and had pulled him out of his seat. With a quick sweep of her foot, Clary had knocked Jace to the ground straddling his back and holding an arm behind his back. The rest of the group watched in shock and admiration at the moves that the fiery redhead had managed to perform. Jace puffed out a breath of air, being knocked to the ground had winded him and he couldn't breathe for a few moments. Clary pulled his arm back slightly, which sent a twinge of pain to run down Jace's body. Jace looked up at Simon, smiling distastefully he puffed out a small "Sorry, Simon." Before trying to turn to Clary, "Clary can you please let go of me now? Alec, c'mon get her off of me." Alec watched on with disdain, he refused to move an inch to help his arse of an adopted brother.

Clary smiled, removing her hand from Jace's arm and getting off of him, finally allowing Jace to stand up and wipe the dust from his trousers off. He looked at Clary with a certain amount of pride, which was unusual for a guy which had just been pinned by a 90lb girl who is only 5'2. "Where did you learn how to do that?" Jace asked in curious wonder. Clary picked at her nail varnish, a bored looked garnishing her face. She settled into the seat next to Izzy who high-fived the red-head. "My mum made me take martial arts classes for 5 years and counting. I guess they paid off." Clary turned her body from Jace, settling back into a conversation with Izzy about the wonders of muggle made objects, leaving Jace to settle into a seat next to Alec who watched him with antipathy.

Jace couldn't stop watching Clary, he found it hard to look away from the girl that managed to pin him down and keep him there too. For the rest of the train journey, Jace watched Clary talk with his adopted sister. Each member of the group at one point would individually leave the carriage to get changed into their uniform, once they were back, the next would go and so on and so forth. Jace noticed however that Alec's parting from Magnus' conversation it was arguably the most hilarious. As Alec announced to Magnus that he needed to go change, Magnus looked up at Alec smirking, “I’ll be waiting for your return sweetheart, please be quick, I’ll miss you too much.” Alec spluttered out a “I-I’ll be right back!" He sped out of the compartment with his clothes, running straight to the bathroom. Although Alec had run out of there, Alec's blush had been blindingly obvious which had been what he had most likely been trying to hide. This caused Jace to lean back into his chair and examine Magnus, what was so wonderful about Magnus that Alec had become a spluttering mess over him within an hour of them meeting?

After psyching himself up in the mirror and doing some breathing techniques; Alec left the bathroom in his fresh robe and uniform holding the clothes that he had been previously wearing. He returned to the group seeing all members of the group involved in discussions. Simon seemed to be trying to make Raphael join into conversations more. Izzy was braiding Clary's hair and Jace and Magnus were glaring at each other? Oh dear, what had happened now. It seemed that they were now sat opposite each other, full on glaring at one another. Rolling his eyes, Alec took the seat next to Magnus and smiled at him. "Mags? Wait can I call you Mags?" Magnus' eyes looked away from Jace's then, his eyes turned to face Alec and smiled a wide smile. "Yeah, you can call me Mags. But only if I can call you Alexander." Alec nodded his head smiling, he grabbed this bag pulling out a deck of cards. Shuffling the cards, Alec separated the cards into two identical piles before passing one to Magnus, "Would you like to play snap with me?" Magnus smiled brightly nodding and they both moved from their seats to the floor to make a better ground to play on. They played the game until they arrived at Hogwarts, Alec having lost most times they played. As the train slowly ground to a halt, the group all looked up at each other rushing to pick up their bags and coats. Alec was worried, with a group their size he hoped that they didn't lose anyone on the journey to the castle.

The first thing that Simon saw once he exited the Hogwarts express was a giant, a literal giant. The man spoke with a loud and gruff tone of voice although he had a comforting aura, he bellowed "First years follow me!" He proceeded to walk down a dark and shady path which ultimately led to a group of boats clustered at the edge of the lake. "Find a partner to sit in a boat with! Be careful in the boats, don't try to push each other out of one. If you try, you'll be out of the school before you could say Quidditch." Simon turned around faced Raphael who was almost bursting with excitement, "Hey Raph, wanna share?" Raphael laughed, "Of course we are going to share, get in the boat Lewis, also don't call me that." "But Raph!" "Don't call me that!" Raphael burst out laughing, but quickly stopped himself before climbing into the boat. "You better not make me fall in this lake Lewis, or it'll be the last thing you do." Raphael turned around to face Simon to help him get in the boat, but Simon had already managed to climb in and was eagerly looking at his surroundings.

In the midst of the darkness, Raphael could still see Clary and Izzy sharing a boat, Magnus and Alec sharing and then also Jace who had managed to sit in the back of a boat with a very pretty girl with blonde hair and striking features.

Raphael only then seemed to notice that the boats had started to move by themselves, he looked up at Simon who was sharing a similar face of shock, excitement and nervousness at the unusual magic that these boats possessed. "Simon I can't believe we are actually going to Hogwarts. We are actually going to school here for the next seven years of our lives. This is incredible..." Raphael sighed in contentment, looking around at the scenery trying to soak in as much as possible. Once they had reached the end of the lake, Raphael carefully got out and grabbed Simon's hand helping him out of the boat. They continued to hold hands, even when they met up with the rest of the group who had huddled together like the penguins that Raphael had seen at the Zoo.

Magnus looked up, Raphael and Simon were slowly walking towards the group holding hands and smiling dopily at each other. Even if Raphael tried to hide it, everyone could see the fond expression he watched Simon with. The group took off towards the castle closely following Hagrid the giant who finally introduced himself when they had crossed the lake. Chatting with Hagrid, the group followed him until they reached the main doors, as everyone tumbled in rushing up the stairs after Hagrid in pure excitement. Hagrid stopped next to a brilliant gold set of doors which Magnus knew was the doors to the great hall. Hagrid clapped his hands together, “Now we must wait for Headmistress McGonagall to lead you into the hall for the official sorting ceremony.” Just as Hagrid finished his sentence, a middle-aged woman came around the corner at a fast pace her robes swishing behind her. “Hagrid!” She interjected, “You must get to your seat before we walk in. Tick tock, tick tock!” With this, Hagrid rushed through a doorway, taking the noise in the room with him.

“Hello, first years. I am headmistress McGonagall and I will be your headmistress throughout your time at Hogwarts here. To your left is the great hall where you will be taken momentarily and will be sorted into one of the four houses. These are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. The people in your houses will become your family, so watch out for one another and care for each other.” She coughed lightly and moved closer to the Great hall doorway. “If you excel in your classes you may be awarded house points which can help your house win the house up at the end of the year. However, if you cause trouble you may end up losing points for your houses. Is that understood?” All of the students nodded, they chorused a “Yes, headmistress McGonagall.”

McGonagall clapped her hands together excitedly, “Wonderful because they are ready for you.” She threw open the doors to the Great hall and strut along down the aisle through the centre of the room, the group of First years walked behind her until they reached the front of the hall near the teacher's table which was situated at the furthest point from the doors. The Great hall truly lived up to its name with the enchanted ceiling, candlesticks and beautiful decorations. McGonagall stood next to a stool which was situated a few steps higher than the step that the first years were standing on.

McGonagall picked up the hat which was sat on the stool in front of the whole hall. “When I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Firstly we have, Magnus Bane.” Magnus nervously walked up to the stool and sat down on it fidgeting. “There is a great deal of ambition in you, the dedication to go the extra mile. SLYTHERIN.” Magnus’ eyes snapped up to Alec’s eyes who was watching curiously and sadly. They exchanged a small comforting glance before Magnus walked over to the hooting table of Slytherin’s.

~~

“Camille Belcourt!” The tall, skinny girl which Jace had previously shared the boat with, stood up onto the platform. Her long blonde hair swirled around her as she moved and her bright green eyes seemed to dazzle even Headmistress McGonagall. She perched down onto the stool with cocky ignorance and smirked at the full school hall. “I can sense the loyalty, ambition, drive and cunningness. There is nowhere else you would fit better, SLYTHERIN.” Camille strut all the way over to the Slytherin table, she sat down on the right side of Magnus. She flashed a full white smile at Magnus, the beautiful smile was creepy and felt invading. “Hi Magnus, it's me Camille Belcourt. Do you remember me? We used to play in your garden together. I've certainly missed you and I can also guarantee that you missed me too. Isn't that right, puddin’?”

~~

“Clarissa Fairchild.” Clary left Izzy’s side and sat down on the stool, the hat placed onto her head. “Daughter of Valentine Morgenstern yet you bear a different last name. Oh, I can tell the differences in you two, you are braver, more trustworthy. Hmm, where should I put you? How about GRYFFINDOR!” Clary jumped off the seat, her red hair flowing around her as she skipped off to the Gryffindor table that was hooting wildly at her.

~~

“Jace Herondale!” Jace pushed his way through the small crowd and sauntered onto the stage, he gracefully sat down. “There is great bravery here, the courage to protect the ones that matter the most, yet also there is cunningness, ambition and pride.” The hat paused for one full minute as it mumbled about which house Jace truly should be in. “Before I change my mind again, I guess I’ll put you in GRYFFINDOR.” Jace smirked, jumping off the stool and strut over to the Gryffindor table waiting for someone else to join him.

~~

“Simon Lewis!” Simon moved to the stool, his eyes flit around the room taking in the full scenery and committing it to memory. “Oh Simon, young, young Simon. I can see your loyalty, strength and dependence, I can also see your kindness. Young Simon, I want to warn you to be careful of who you give your loyalty to; not everyone deserves it. Anyway, HUFFLEPUFF.” Simon smiled walking peacefully towards the house which was currently hooting at him; Simon was happy to be put in the house known for its kindness and loyalty. He looked up from the table and caught Raphael’s eye, waving quickly and smiling brightly he turned away from Raphael hoping to make a friend in this house.

~~

“Alexander Lightwood.” Alec’s eyes widened and he shuffled through the people in front of him, he sat down on the stool allowing the hat to be placed on his head. “There is great intelligence within you, courage, bravery and also those protective instincts I can sense. Where should you go, I guess I’ll put you in GRYFFINDOR!” Alec let out of a sigh, standing from the stool and smiled at Magnus who caught his eye. Alec looked happily to the Gryffindor table and slid into the seat next to Clary who was giving him a wide smile and opposite Jace. “We’re going to become close friends, Alec.” Alec smiled at Clary, “Yeah, I think we are.”
Jace looked up at Alec, “you gonna stay mad at me forever? You know you can't avoid talking to me anymore as we are in the same house!” Alec rolled his eyes, “alright, the next time you're a dick I'm getting Clary to body slam you again.” Clary raised her eyebrows in a challenging manner at Jace, licking her teeth at him. “Oh, I would love to kick Jace’s arse again. Give me the time and place and I’ll be there.” Clary winked at Jace before turning to face the next individual to be sorted.

~~

“Isabelle Lightwood.” Izzy jumped from her standing position up onto the stool. Izzy was excited to find her out her house and who would be her Hogwarts family for the next seven years. The sorting hat was placed on her head and settled down onto her head in a way that was unusual to the previous sortings. “You have wonderful hair Isabelle, I must use whatever it is that you are using.” The whole hall let out a loud chuckle at the antics of the sorting hat. “Anyway, you're bright, exceedingly bright to match our wonderful Professor Hermione Weasley. I would offer you the chance to choose which house you want to be in, but I can tell right now which you want to be in.” The hat made a noise, it was part way between a cough and a laugh which created a smile on the hat’s face. “RAVENCLAW.” Izzy looked up at Professor Weasley and smiled gratefully before moving to sit with her house.

~~

Jonathan Morgenstern.” A boy with silver hair and dark brown eyes stepped forward and sat on the stool, McGonagall lowered the hat but before it could even touch Jonathan's head the Sorting hat shouted “SLYTHERIN.” A loud burst of noise was made by the rest of Magnus’ table. Magnus slowly clapped unaware of who the boy was.

~~

“Raphael Santiago!” Raphael put on his best ‘nonchalant face’ but truthfully he was terrified, excited and nervous, internally calming his face he sat down. “What a great brain, full of intellect and resourcefulness.” The hat paused for a moment, “SLYTHERIN.” Raphael got up from the stool and slid into the seat next to Magnus on his left, “I know how you're feeling Raphael, but don't worry we won't be that separate from the rest of the group.”

~~

As the rest of the first years were sorted, Simon managed to make company with a girl named Maureen Brown who had been placed in his house. Although, her company was not as stimulating as Raphael’s was for Simon. Simon looked over at Izzy and could see that she had made friends with one of the first year Ravenclaws, Maia Roberts. Simon knew that she was friends with Jordan Kyle who had been placed in his house and was currently sitting opposite him.

Simon had previously overheard earlier on the walk to the castle that Jordan had been bitten by a werewolf at the age of 9 and subsequently becomes a werewolf every full moon. His mousy brown hair curled around his head, only just showing his shining hazel-green eyes, he was also very tall for an eleven-year-old.

As Simon looked over to the Gryffindor table, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat into the microphone.

“Welcome, students to your next year at Hogwarts. Regardless if it is your first or last year, we expect you to uphold the rules. Anyway, let the feast begin!”

Simon’s head snapped around to the table right in front of him which suddenly burst to life with thousands of plates of food, enough for a King in fact. Looking around the hall, Simon could see that everyone was tucking into the chicken, beef, lamb and vegetables. Simon let an inaudible sigh, why did he have to be a vegetarian? Simon loaded up on the vegetables, chips, potato and Yorkshire puddings. This caused Simon to wonder if there would be any vegetarian meals on normal days, otherwise, Simon might just have to start eating meat; and that would be frankly unacceptable.

Once Simon and the rest of the Hufflepuff house had finished eating, a seventh-year prefect stood up gesturing towards his house, “FIRST YEARS FOLLOW ME.” All of the Hufflepuff first years jumped up from the seats, rushing after the prefect.

Once all of the first years had gotten outside of the hall the boy stopped, turning around towards the group. “Hello first years, I am Edward Lupin but you can call me Teddy. I’m head boy and a seventh year. I am going to take you to the Hufflepuff common room where you will be living for the next seven years of your life. Follow me.”

The head boy took off towards the common room, the group followed him down a set of moving staircases which seemed to have a mind of their own as they seemed to move with no true pattern. They eventually arrived at a collection of barrels sat on top of each other. Simon assumed that this must be the entrance to the Hufflepuff basement and that it was somehow hidden behind this set of barrels.

“To enter the common room you must tap the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’ onto the second barrel to the right. Here, I will demonstrate.” Teddy then tapped the rhythm onto the barrel, this caused the lid to swing violently open which shocked Simon.

“If you incorrectly tap the rhythm you will be doused in Vinegar, so it is imperative that you remember it correctly. Now, one by one climb into the barrel, I will go last to make sure that nobody else comes through.” Teddy gestured towards the kid who was standing closest to the barrel. Simon’s turn came eventually, he slowly crawled through the tunnel trying to take it at a slow pace as he did not know how long he would be crawling for. From the outside of the tunnel you would not have been able to see that the tunnel had as big as a circumference as it does, this made it easier to climb through.

Once Simon climbed out of the dark tunnel, he was face to face with such a comfy basement area with high ceilings. The room was full of yellow which seemed to brighten the room, although this could be due to the large windows at the top of the walls which brought in lots of sunlight. In the common room, there were shelves dotted around the circular room which had different species of plant sat on them. As Simon concentrated he could see that a few of them seemed to be having conversations and some were even dancing. Simon’s eyes widened, his heart bursting at the seams, he would get to spend his next seven years in this room and he was overjoyed to do so. In the centre of the room were overstuffed and oversized sofas which looked more comfortable than Simon’s bed back home, it made Simon want to run over there and jump on them; Simon knew although that this would not be good to do so on his first day.

Teddy climbed out of the tunnel, he dusted off his robes before straightening up and addressing the group. “This is the Hufflepuff common room, as you can see it is rich in the colours of our house, yellow and black. It also has an earthly aura, with the plants supplied by our head of house Professor Sprout who is the Herbology teacher. There are multiple circular doors dotted around this room, the one on the left of the entrance will take you to the boy's common room. The door on the right will lead you to the girl’s common room. The rest of the doors, well I’ll let you discover where they end up by yourselves; it’s more fun that way. Anyway, ladies if you would follow me I'll take you to your dormitory. Gentlemen, please wait here; I will be back momentarily.” With that, Teddy ushered the seven young girls into the tunnel before shutting the door.

Simon walked over to the plants he could see that had been having a conversation, one of them looked up at him. “Hello there, what’s your name? I am Cordelia.” Simon’s mouth dropped open, “I’m Simon. Sorry for listening in to your conversation earlier. I just can’t believe that this is real. Like I am actually talking to a plant and nobody is calling me crazy because it is real. Sorry, I don’t mean to offend you, did I offend you? Truly I am very sorry!” Simon blurted out to the plant which seemed to give him an incredulous look, he still couldn’t believe that plants have faces…

Just as Simon had finished his ramble, a hand touched his shoulder grabbing his attention. It was Jordan Kyle the werewolf. Jordan watched Simon’s face, a concerned look ghosting his features, “Are you okay Simon? You look like you need water. Maybe you should sit down?”

Simon had even realised that he was feeling lightheaded, he allowed himself to be dragged by Jordan over to a sofa where he sat down and took in deep breaths. “I think you just got a little bit excited then buddy, let's try and keep calm okay.” Simon took deep breaths until he felt calm again, he turned his body to face Jordan. “Thank you Jordan, thank you for helping me out.” Jordan smiled and pat his back, “It’s alright buddy. Now up you get, we are going to get to see our room soon enough.” Simon stood up, he gave Jordan a quick ‘bro-hug’ before they went to join the rest of the group which seemed to be sat on a collection of seats near the kitchen like area.

Jordan sat down next to one of the seven other boys in the room, leaving space for Simon to sit on his other side. “I guess we should all get to know each other if we are going to be rooming together for the next seven years?” All the boys one by one said their names and introduced themselves, leaving just Jordan and Simon to introduce themselves. “Hey guys, I’m Jordan Kyle. Both of my parents are wizards, which is cool, I guess? Um, fun fact, I was bitten by a werewolf when I was nine years old. Don’t worry, I have potions to calm the effects of the lycanthropy bite, I'm also in great control of the wolf now.” Everyone listened carefully to one another, Simon was really happy that they didn’t have any dickish people in their house. Everyone seemed to be very calm in fact. Jordan then gestured to Simon to introduce himself.

“Hi, I'm Simon Lewis. I have two non-magical parents who are lawyers back home. Fun fact? I can play the guitar a little and I brought my ginger kitten Garfield with me here.” One of the other muggle-borns in their group burst out laughing, Simon recalled that his name was Joe, “You actually named your ginger kitten after the cat which only eats Lasagna and sleeps all day? That is jokes.” Simon smiled proudly at him, nodding his head eagerly.

After Joe had finished laughing and the rest of the group stopped giving Joe weird looks of confusion, Teddy burst in through the girl’s tunnel.

“Sorry that I took so long, the girls couldn’t choose who went in the room of four and who went in the room of three. It was way too much hassle for such a trivial matter. Anyway, I believe that you have become acquainted with one another? Great, I'll show you to the two rooms that you will be occupying.” Teddy opened the barrel on the left of the main entrance and began to climb through it, the nine boys following suit. Whilst crawling through the tunnel Teddy shouted to the group, “On the left of you will be the tunnel for the first year rooms, if you followed the tunnel round it would take you to the subsequent years that follow in order. However, as you are only first years we will be going through this door, now come on hurry up.” Teddy opened the door to the dormitory jumping out of it. Once Simon had gotten out he could see the wall that held two doors. Teddy then pointed at the first room, “This will have five of you in there and the second room will have four. If you could please quickly, calmly and quietly chose your rooms then that would be impeccable, the girls have seemed to have given me a headache. Thank you.”

Simon looked over at Jordan who nodded subtly, Simon then caught Joe’s eye who also nodded and grabbed another boy Trent who was a pure-blood. The boys moved closer to room two, making it obvious that the rooms had been chosen. Teddy smiled, “Brilliant, once you enter the room you will notice that your belongings will have been transported to the middle of the room, collect them and then chose the bed you want. From here on out, you may do as you please. Mobile phones do not work very well in the common rooms, however, they get a great signal on the courtyard. Before you say it, I know that the castle used to not have the ability to withhold electricity but with new developments after the second wizarding war many years ago, it now can. Also, lights out at 12 at the latest. If you need me I will be in the common room, but feel comfortable to ask any members of staff or students as everyone would be happy to help. It was lovely meeting you all.” With his final words, Teddy climbed into the tunnel and left the group of nine.

Simon, Jordan, Joe and Trent walked into the dormitory, gasping in excitement. They each ran to one of the beds claiming it. The room was in the shape of a half circle, it had mountains of space to place belongings and to hang things from the walls. The bedposts were covered in black and yellow patchwork quilts which seemed to work well with the earthy motif of the Hufflepuff basement. Simon took the bed closest to the wall near the door and began to move his belongings to the chest of drawers in front of it. That was when Simon saw Garfield and had to let him out.

“Guys, do you mind if I take Garfield out of his cage? He’s been forced into it for the whole day and I feel terrible about it.” There was a chorus of ‘yes’, so Simon opened the cage allowing his young cat to come out. As soon as he did, the orange and black kitten ran out jumping on to Simon and nuzzling his face, “Hey there buddy, you’re so cute. I’m sorry for leaving you in there for all of this time. Here’s a treat for being such a good boy.”

At this point all of the boys had crowded around Simon awing and cooing at the cat, Jordan was the first to speak “I know I typically don’t like cats because of the whole werewolf thing, but that is the cutest Calico cat I have ever seen. Can I please hold him?” Simon nodded, “Sure!” and passed over the cat who was reluctant to let go. However, once Garfield had gotten settled onto Jordan, he began licking Jordan’s face to clean him and would pet at his hair contently with his tiny paw. Simon smiled grabbing his phone taking a sneaky picture because of how cute it was. The cat eventually got bored of licking Jordan’s face and scuttled back over to Simon laying on his shoulder. Simon took the kitten into his hands and stood up grabbing his phone, “I'm going to take him out on a walk of the grounds. I’ll see you all in a little bit?” They all said goodbye and off he went.

Climbing through the tunnels was slightly hard with a cat in one of his hands, so Simon released Garfield and let the little one wander but guided him in the right direction. Once they had gotten out of the dormitories and had left the Hufflepuff basement Simon picked him back up again and walked towards the courtyard. Making his way up some stairs, Simon could just about make out Izzy who was chatting with Alec and Jace. “Lightwood!” The three siblings span around all looking for who had called their last name, once they realised who had called their name they all had varying degrees of expression. Jace, for example, raised his eyebrows and promptly rolled his eyes. Alec smiled a polite smile, whereas Izzy waved and grinned at him. Simon walked over to the group, holding Garfield close to his chest to make sure he didn't lose him.

Just as Simon was just about to ask how everyone was, Alec butt in. “Is that a kitten you're holding? Can I see it?” Simon held his palm away from his chest showing Alec his cute little kitten. Nobody, and I mean nobody expected the squeal that Alec let out when he saw the cat; Alec grabbed Jace pointing at the cat “LOOK AT IT, LOOKS AT HOW CUTE IT IS.”

Alec opened his palm towards the kitten which happily ran up his palm, arm and sat on his shoulder. Alec looked ready to burst with happiness; he turned to Simon, “I also have a cat, his name is Church and is super grumpy. He rips mice to death on my floor and leaves it for me to find. Whereas this little cutey couldn't harm a fly.” Simon laughed loudly, “Actually Garfield can be quite vicious with mice as well, I think it comes with the territory. Anyway, how are you, Alec? Is Gryffindor treating you well?” Alec’s mouth shut, he moved closer to Simon and spoke so softly that only Simon would be able to hear him, “It's full of obnoxious, self-centred idiots who keep trying to goad each other. I wanted to be in Hufflepuff, they are so relaxed in comparison to Gryffindor. But I guess Gryffindor has great Quidditch players so I might be able to get into that. What about you Simon? I don’t know why I just told you that, but I feel like I can talk to you about this.” Alec smiled shyly, his eyes dropping to the floor which suddenly seemed very interesting.

Simon pulled at the collar of his shirt slightly, “I don't mean to make you feel worse, but Hufflepuff is awesome. It's so welcoming and wonderful. The only downside is all of the crawling… But I'm sorry that you're not overly happy about where you were placed. I bet it’ll all be okay soon enough mate. Also, I feel like I can talk to you too buddy, it’s nice.” Simon rubbed Alec’s back comfortingly. ”Does anyone want to help track down the gang and sit down in the courtyard with me?” The three siblings nodded, they got into a circle. “Jace get clary. Alec, you go get Magnus and Raphael. Izzy, you can bring anyone you deem worthy, Let's all meet at the courtyard in fifteen minutes, I’ll wait there!” They all walked off in different directions in search of an individual.

~~

Alec’s walk to the Slytherin dungeons was not as far as he had previously thought, the common room could be found behind a stone wall in the dungeons. Alec wasn’t very comfortable with going down this far into the castle by himself on the first night, but he really wanted to see Magnus again so he toughed it out.

Just as Alec arrived at the location of the entrance, he was immediately greeted with an ‘Alexander! What are you doing down here?” It was Magnus and Raphael. Magnus then immediately pulled Alec into his arms, he rubbed his hands up and down Alec’s arms “Let's get you upstairs, it's too cold for you down here.” The next thing he knew, Alec was being rushed up the stairs to the ground floor, he hardly had time to breathe causing Magnus to stop and look him in the eyes.

"Sorry for just pulling you up here, I probably shouldn't have done that. Anyway, how are you, Alec? What is Gryffindor like?" Alec laughed at the words that came out of Magnus' mouth.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. It's just that you are the second person to ask me that today. The first being Simon, only a few moments ago."

Alec rubbed his arm, wishing he had brought a blanket with when he had come downstairs. "Yeah, I'm good thanks. Gryffindor is everything I expected it to be; full of snobs, self-centred Harry Potter wannabes. As I said to Simon, I wish I had been sorted into Hufflepuff house. At least they seem to be genuine human beings, whereas the students in Gryffindor (with the exception of Clary) are all pompous and act like they are in the best house just because Harry Potter was in it. I think that everyone has forgotten about how all houses played a part in the Second Wizarding War, or at least the 'Battle of Hogwarts. So just because they are in Gryffindor does not make them incredible people, just like being in Slytherin does not automatically mean that you are a bad person. They are all so prejudiced. I thought we left house wars back when Voldemort died, obviously not I guess."

Alec sighed, rubbing his arm and staring at the floor. Magnus grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into a hug which was more comforting that the hugs that his mother would give him every few years. Magnus' hand rubbed up and down Alec's back, soothing the younger boy. Raphael watched from the distance, feeling sorrow for the boy who was obviously going to struggle with the individuals in his house.

Alec shook his head, pulling back from Magnus' hug. "Sorry for going off on such a rant, I actually came down here to ask you and Raphael to come join us all out in the courtyard. Everyone is going to be there..."

Magnus smiled, he turned to Raphael who nodded fractionally giving his consent, "Yeah, let's go then."

The three boys went on their way, conversation flowed through the three boys as they walked past the hall and then left the building; the clock which sat swinging from the sixth floor showing the time as nine o'clock. As the boys walked through the courtyard, at the very end they could just about make out a red-headed girl jumping in the air and waving her arms sporadically; Clary.

The boys slowly walked over to the group who was sat in a circle animatedly talking, they had a left a gap between Simon and Jace for the three of them to sit.

Raphael sat next to Simon, instantly leaning into him slightly. Alec then sat next to Jace, knowing full well that Magnus would not cope well sitting next to him; this left Magnus to sit in between the two of them. The group was the same as the one they had on the train to Hogwarts, except Isabelle had brought one of the girls in her house with her; Lydia Branwell.

"Magnus, Raphael, how are you both? Isn't Hogwarts such a wonderful place? Look at how beautiful the view from up here, I want to paint it but sadly all of my art supplies are in my room. “Clary pouted, which made her look even younger than she was. She shook her head and clapped her hands together, "Guys, let's play two truths one lie, it can be a real ice breaker yeah? You have to guess which one of my statements is a lie and which is the truth, and hopefully, Jace doesn't offend anyone this time." The group laughed, excluding Jace who was not happy about being the butt of the jokes.

Clary smiled at the group, "I'll go first. 1) 'My middle name is Adele.' 2) I have a triangle shaped scar on my shoulder. 3) My first name would have been Seraphina if my dad had been allowed to choose my name’. Okay so which one is the lie?"

All of the group stared at Clary, trying to spot the lie by her tone of voice; but they got nothing. Surprisingly Jace was the first to speak, his tone questioning and unsure. "This scar of yours, how did you get it?"

Clary shrugged, "I don't actually know. It's been there ever since I was born apparently."

Alec spoke next, "I don't trust the scar one. You gave too little detail about it."

Izzy sat up talking to her brother, "Are you stupid mi Hermano? It has to be the Seraphina one, nobody would ever name the child Seraphina." Izzy laughed at her brother giving him a dirty look which bordered on patronising.

Clary smiled, "Okay, who votes for number one being a lie?" Raphael and Magnus raised their hands. "Alright, how about number two being a lie?" This time Alec, Simon, Jace all raised their hands confidently. "Finally, who thinks number three is a lie?" Izzy and Lydia held their hands up, overly confident.

Clary smiled, she turned her back to her group moving her robes and uniform off her shoulder so that everyone could see the Star shaped scar on her shoulder.

Alec, Simon and Jace all jumped up, high-fiving each other, Simon and Alec doing a small chest bump in excitement. The three boys then sat down laughing at the disappointed looks on the other's faces.

Clary smiled fondly at the three boys which were acting like idiots. "I've actually had this star shaped star since I was a baby, I don't have a recollection of ever getting it." However, this caused Alec to stop moving and glance at Jace nervously, "Jace, don't you have a star shaped scar too?"

Jace's face was one of confusion as he looked at Alec with a dumb look, that was until he suddenly remembered the scar on his left shoulder. He turned his back to Alec and slightly pulled at the collar on the left of his uniform knowing that Alec would help him look.

There it was clear as day, a red shaped star sign on his left shoulder which identically matched Clary's. Clary and Jace both gave each other a weird look, trying to understand how they seem to have this matching birthmark.

Izzy spoke up laughing slightly, "Doesn't anyone else find this funny. It's like they are siblings or something! Maybe they are, maybe Jonathan isn't Clary's real brother but Jace is!" Isabelle burst out laughing for the second time, unaware of the awkwardness that had just been instilled upon the group. The group was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop to the ground.

Clary and Jace continued to give each other weird looks until they both turned away and looked awkwardly at the landscapes around them. Jace was coughing slightly which Alec noted, was an obvious give away for the slightly crush Jace had on Clary. Alec had known straight away that Jace had liked her and he could only imagine that this would have felt horrible.

Magnus whistled a whistle which was one of second-hand embarrassment before clapping his hands together, "Maybe we should continue on with the game. I think it's Simon's turn, yeah?" Simon nodded, he worked quickly to try and get rid of the awkwardness that plagued the group.

The game continued on for another few rounds, the group found out weird truths about each other which they didn't really need to know.

Things became interesting when it was Magnus' turn to play. Alec during the game had gotten bored of sitting upright and had leant against Magnus, their bodies completely touching. It made Alec's heart skip a beat, he knew that his parents wouldn't exactly approve of his behaviour with Magnus; but they were not here to see it. Although Alec was only eleven, turning twelve in a week; he knew that his parents did not approve of men who liked other men in the way that Alec did. Alec had known ever since Jace moved in that he was attracted to other boys, then once his crush on Jace had disappeared by the age of ten he knew that it wasn't just a Jace thing, it was a boys thing. Alec accepted who he was at a quite a young age, but he knew that he still had to be careful just in case his parents ever found out.

Magnus moved Alec slightly to make it more comfortable for him to speak, he kept his arm around Alec's shoulder and spoke. "Okay, 1) 'I can speak Indonesian.' 2) 'I have a white and black fluffy kitten called 'Chairman Meow'.' 3) 'I'm gay.' Okay, which is the lie?" Simon spoke quickly, "Well, I'm pretty sure number three isn't the lie by the way you're cuddled up to Alec over there buddy!" Alec flushed a bright red that went from his ears to his chest, although he was confident in himself he still felt embarrassed from their teasing. This caused Alec to pout, he hid his face hoping that they would stop the teasing soon enough.

Clary let out a small "awe" which seemed to echo due to the loudness of it, "You guys are so sweet, please let me take a photo. Actually, wait, I'm taking one and you are just going to have to deal with it." Clary pulled out her phone quickly snapping a few photos, some with filters some just as an ordinary picture. She then pulled up snapchat and made it so that they both had puppy ears and snout, she shoved her phone at the group cooing at the photos in happiness.

Alec kept his face hidden from Clary and group, he whispered softly to Magnus,” Is she done yet? I don’t want my face in them.” Magnus gave him a curious look, nodding before turning back to the group and smiling. “So what does everyone think is the lie? One, two or three?”

“Well honey, we both know you're not gay. Remember that time we kissed when we got married in your back garden and my sister was the vicar? It was so wonderful. Anyway, I thought you liked girls and boys too, unless I'm mistaken?” A mysterious voice proclaims to the group, due to the sun setting and the lack of electricity in the castle, Alec could hardly see her. But Magnus could, he could recognise her blonde hair a mile away. “Camille!” Magnus hissed at her, “Please go away. That was a stupid thing we did when we were kids, I gave you a Haribo ring for goodness sake. Let it go!” At this point Magnus had stood up, abandoning Alec on the ground. However, Magnus did stand in front of Alec blocking Camille’s view of Alec.

Camille’s eyebrow perked up, a smirk twinges at her lips, “Got a new friend, Magnus?” Camille then moved next to Alec, she grabbed his face in her hand and stared at him straight in the eyes, “You’re nothing special sweetie. Magnus deserves way better than you.” Camille released Alec’s jaw, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her robes. “It was lovely chatting with you all, toodles!” With that, Camille slipped away and had vanished with a bat of an eyelid.”

Alec’s head snapped around to Magnus’, his eyes like slits, “Who the hell, was that?” Alec stood up, ready to run after the girl, “Who the hell does she think she is treating you like that?” Jace jumped up from his position on the ground, he grabbed Alec’s arms and looked him in the eyes, “You need to calm down, alright?” Alec let out some small breaths, once he was finally calm he looked over at Magnus and scratched the back of his neck, “S-sorry, um, Mags I’m sorry for reacting like that.” Magnus smiled and pulled Alec into a hug, “it’s alright buddy. She’s worthless, she's not even worth one thought.” As the pair sat down onto the grass, the other members of the group couldn't help their curiosity.

Izzy shuffled slightly getting comfortable before she spoke loudly to Magnus, “So what happened with you and Camille? Also, why does she hate you?”

Magnus grimaced, “Let's just say that it all started when we were Six-years-old…”