Hogwarts Year 1 (Part I)
Diagon Alley was bustling with people going about their shopping. Harri was glad she’d gotten more experience being around crowds, otherwise she’d have been much more uncomfortable. As it was, the fact that people couldn’t see her ‘iconic’ scar probably contributed to her ability to shop unmolested. Shortly after deciding to attend Hogwarts, both to see where her parents had gone to school and because she could learn some interesting things, Harri had decided to cover up her scar. Opal had provided a sudo-makeup made from some of the glowing fungi in the Glimwood Tangle so now, instead of the lightning scar, she had a small partial ring of lightly glowing blue on her forehead (right over and hiding the scar). It made her feel more like herself and less like the Girl-Who-Lived and had the added benefit of matching Ghost. The anonymity probably wouldn’t last once she actually got to Hogwarts and people started learning what she actually looked like and spread the news, but for now it was bliss.
Opal had asked if she’d wanted her to come with, but Harri had declined. Currently, no-one knew where she lived and being seen with her mentor would have been a huge clue as to where she was staying. She didn’t want the sanctity of Ballonlea and the Glimwood Tangle to be sullied (or put at risk) by masses of people attempting to seek her out. So with Ghost and Dreepy by her side and her supplies list in her pocket, Harri set out, with no small amount of dread, for the bank at the end of the Alley. She still had plenty of her own money from her time in the Wild Area (and Opal had given her access to the Prince accounts when making her her heir), but she wanted to see if she could access anything from her parents–it would be nice to have something tangible of theirs. The bank was suitably intimidating and it was cool to see Sableye wandering around everywhere. Harri quickly walked up to the first free teller.
“Excuse me? I’d like to get an inheritance test please.”
“That’ll be 20 Poké.” She quickly handed him the money and followed the Sableye he called over down a side hall and into a room with several unidentifiable instruments scattered. She took a seat in front of the desk and gave the man across from her her full attention.
“Hold this for two minutes,” he handed her a lump of crystal that fit neatly in her palm, “then place it in this bowl.” She did as instructed and was interested to feel her aura react with the crystal. It must use aura to identify whoever was holding it.
“Now what?” She asked after placing it into the bowl.
“Now we wait.” Not even a minute later a piece of parchment placed under the bowl had writing appear on it. He took the paper and started to read it. His eyebrows rose higher and higher until he finally finished and set it down. “One moment please, Miss Potter, I’m going to summon the Potter account manager.” It wasn’t long before another man entered the office space, a Sableye by his side, and asked her to follow him. She thanked the man who’d administered the test before going to follow the new man. He introduced himself as Grimly, the Potter family account manager, on the way to his office.
“It is good to see you again, Miss Potter. The last time you were in my office was when you were a baby and your parents came to register your aura signature. It's a good thing they did; you wouldn’t believe the number of fakes we’ve had waltz in here claiming to be you. Now, there are a few things I would like to go over with you.” She nodded for him to go on and he pulled up a few folders filled with paper (some of them very full). “This is a copy of the status of the Potter vaults. There’s nothing concerning or that needs your immediate attention there, but you may want to come back at a later date, either by yourself or with a trusted adult, to review investments. I have been unable to approve any sales or acquisitions in the absence of authorization from the head of your family, which is now you. This,” he slid another folder towards her, “is a motion to unseal your parents’ wills. All it needs is your signature and we can start acting on their recorded wishes. My apologies for the bank being unable to do so before, but the ministry sealed the will and without your approval we couldn’t unseal it without a majority vote.” Harri was quick to sign where needed and was again interested to note how her aura reacted to both the paper she signed and the pen she used.
“Lastly, what would you like us to do with the gifts that people have sent you?”
“I have gifts? Why would people send me gifts?”
“Many gifts and tokens flooded in after the defeat of Team Purity’s leader, out of gratitude I’d imagine, and you typically receive another wave of parcels on the anniversary of his defeat as well as on your birthday. There are also the scores of holiday and New Years cards that flood in like clockwork.” Harri blinked at Grimly in shock and wordlessly leafed through the last, and thickest, folder he had handed her. It contained sheets and sheets of recorded gifts and letters. According to the paperwork the vault had been set up shortly after her parent’s death to collect the vast amount of post people would send to her. Even if she’d been made aware of this set up as soon as she was old enough it would have been a challenge to deal with it all, but she hadn’t known and now faced a gargantuan task.
“Um, I have no idea what to do about this. I’ll get back to you about that, but please keep collecting everything in the meantime.” Grimly nodded before requesting her Rotom Phone. He quickly installed the Gringotts app onto it and set it up so she would be able to remotely access her trust vault and make payments with her phone (it worked through her phone recognizing her aura to authorize the money transfer so she didn’t have to worry about thieves) and then walked her back to the main lobby. Harri released Ghost once she got back outside (all pokémon except for the Sableye that worked there weren’t allowed to be out of their pokéballs in the bank) and they grabbed a quick lunch before getting started on the list of supplies. A shop selling bags was her first stop and she purchased a nice purple trainer bag: it had multiple sections with expanded space inside to handle all of a trainer’s needs. From there she worked her way down the list placing each subsequent purchase into her new bag. Harri already had two pokémon (and had the pokedex app on her phone) so she wouldn’t need to go to Professor Ollivander, which made her last stop getting her school uniforms. She purchased multiple sets of the boys uniform (there was no way she was wearing a skirt every day, sometimes on weekends for casual wear, sure, but not for her uniform) and several warm coats as well as a pair or sturdy all weather boots at the recommendation of the woman (apparently despite being on an island it got cold at Hogwarts). Shopping done she called a Flying Taxi to take her back to Ballonlea. She wanted to make the most of the time she had left before leaving for Hogwarts.
* * * * * *
For the same reasons that she had gone shopping alone, Harri made her way to the Hogwarts Express Ferry on her own. She’d said her goodbyes to Allister and Marnie during her going away dinner the night before (and promised to send regular updates on how school was) and Opal had seen her off at the train that would take her to the pier. It had been hard saying goodbye, made harder by the gift that Opal had presented her with that morning, and only the promise of regular email updates and being able to return for the holidays had prevented her from crying any more than she had. The gleaming red ship made for an impressive sight as Harri and Ghost made their way up the gangplank. It was easy enough to find a compartment to themselves and she was quick to settle down with one of her course books to read while absentmindedly petting Ghost’s head in her lap. She’d already gone through her textbooks, but she was worried. Even though she’d kept up with her studies, it’d been years since she’d last sat down for an actual class. Harri hardly even noticed when the ship departed and was content in her own world until the compartment door opened. From the surprised look on the boy's face he hadn’t expected anyone to be in here, which was fair considering she was squished into the corner, and now he was unsure what to do. Finally she took pity on him and waved him in. He collapsed onto the bench opposite her with a huff of relief.
“Thanks. Sorry about that, everywhere else is right full. I’m Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley.” Harri perked up from hearing his name.
“You mean like the Weasley family that runs the Bug type gym?” Ron flushed a little, but nodded.
“Yeah. I’m slated to be the next gym leader.”
“Wicked! I’m Harri and this is Ghost.” Ron’s eyes bulged as he finally took in Ghost’s unusual coloring.
“By Arceus! You’ve got a shiny pokémon! They’re really, really rare. My family breeds all sorts of bug types, but we almost never get any shiny ones. He must have cost a fortune.”
“Actually, I found Ghost when he was still an Eevee. We’ve been together for years and I’ve yet to actually see another shiny pokemon.”
“You must just be lucky then.” He said. “Hey, what other pokémon have you got? I have a Wimpod and Grubbin, want to catch my third at school ya’ know? I’m the first of my siblings to not get a pokémon from Ollivander.” She thought it was interesting that he seemed proud to be different from his siblings.
“Besides Ghost, I have a Dreepy and a Ponyta.” Harri smiled remembering the magical moment when Opal had handed her the Luxury ball for the Ponyta she’d personally picked out from the herd she raised to give to her heir. “You can bring your pokémon out if you want, Ghost won’t mind.” Ron thanked her, but declined after explaining that the bug types didn’t enjoy traveling. They chatted for a little longer before Harri went back to her book and Ron started playing something on his phone. The comfortable quiet lasted until sometime after noon when a knock on the compartment door signaled the arrival of a woman pushing a cart full of snacks and candy. Harri eagerly bought a couple of things and readily swapped some chocolate for half of one of Ron’s sandwiches. They jokingly argued about the best type of candy for a little while (Ron’s vote was solidly for the Chocolate Politoads due to the collectible cards while she defended the Pumpkaboo Pasties candidacy for the number one spot) before returning to entertaining themselves. Every now and then Harri would look out the window to watch for any water or water-flying type pokémon. There wasn’t much to see otherwise, but she was enjoying it while she could. The island Hogwarts was situated on was surrounded by fog meant to protect the school from those who meant it harm. The first sign of fog was just beginning to be noticeable when their compartment door was opened after a brief knock.
“Excuse me, but have either of you seen a Wooper around?” Ron perked up, apparently he recognized the rather despondent looking boy.
“Hey Neville, Trevor wander off again?” Neville looked surprised to be recognized, but his expression quickly morphed to one of rueful embarrassment as he nodded.
“Yeah. I looked away for just a second and then he was gone.”
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say Trevor had Run Away for an ability. If we see him I’ll try and hang onto him for you.” Neville grinned in thanks.
“You could always see if anyone has a psychic type that can sense Trevor.” Harri suggested. Neville blinked in shock for a moment before groaning.
“Why didn’t I think of that? Thank you. I’ll go ask the upper years if someone can help me.” He left with a wave and they settled back into companionable silence. The dense fog had fully encompassed the boat by now, leaving the view out the window a swirling white expanse. She and Ron both jumped in surprise as their compartment door suddenly opened with a clang. A girl with lots of curly hair who was already in her school uniform was standing in the opening.
“Have either of you seen a Wooper? Neville’s lost his.” She asked while looking around for Trevor before getting distracted by Ghost. “You’re keeping your pokémon outside its pokéball? All of the guides that I’ve read say that pokémon typically stay inside their pokéballs while being trained; it’s worked very well for Helioptile and Rotom. I’m the first in my family to be a pokémon trainer so I wanted to prepare as much as I could. I’ve even memorized our textbooks already! I’m Hermione Granger, by the way, and you are?” Harri had to take a moment to untangle all that Hermione had just said. It was clear that she was very excited based on how quickly she spoke. Thankfully, Ron was a bit quicker on the uptake than she was and managed to respond before an awkward silence could occur.
“I’m Ron Weasley.”
“Harri. And this is Ghost. There’s actually been research conducted in Johto that supports the theory that having your pokémon walk alongside you actually increases your bond with them and can help bring out their full potential. I’m glad your method is working, but it never hurts to be open minded.” The other girl didn’t seem to know how to respond before she regained her wits with a slight huff.
“You two should probably change into your uniforms. We should be arriving soon.” She said before leaving as abruptly as she arrived. Harri shared an amused look with Ron before deciding to look out the window again. It was clear that the sun was beginning to set as the white fog began to dim into gray and Harri decided she might as well go change into her uniform. They most likely had a little over an hour until they arrived, but she wanted to be able to see as they broke from the fog. She was back quickly and was rewarded by a stunning view as the last of the fog melted away. The brilliant sunset illuminated the sparkling waterfalls that fell from the high cliffs of the island while the impressive forests were cast in deep shadows. The ferry docked without issue and Harri was quick to follow the other students onto the pier. The upper years made their way confidently up a set of stairs cut into the cliff face while some lagged behind to make sure no first year ended up left behind. The view of the water from the top was breathtaking enough that Harri snapped a picture to send to Allister, Marnie and Opal. Her appreciation of the view was interrupted by a large man holding a lantern shouting for the first year students.
“First years! This way! First years!” Once all of them had made their way over he did a quick head count before leading them to the nearby river. One of the girls gasped and Harri silently echoed the sentiment. A pod of Lapras were waiting serenely for them. “Alright everyone, hop on. No more than four to a Lapras now.” Harri pet Ghost’s head before returning him, she would release him once they were off the Lapras. Ron ended up joining her on her chosen Lapras along with Hermione and Neville, who’d managed to be reunited with Trevor. Once everyone was ready their guide settled onto his own massive Lapras before they all headed out. It was peaceful sailing quietly up the river. Lantern, Azumarill, and Seadra frolicked around them in just barely seen glimpses. In forever and absolutely no time at all they rounded a bend and entered a large lake. Sparkling in the lake’s reflection was Hogwarts castle itself. Delighted and awed murmurs spread as everyone got their first glimpse of the school. Harri thought the towers and lights from the windows in the stone castle made for an impressive sight. The school and surrounding grounds would be fun to explore if nothing else. “Watch your step now.” The man cautioned as everyone disembarked. He led them through a side entrance of the castle and into a waiting area (where almost everyone was quick to release a pokémon). “The first year students, Professor McGonagall.” He proudly announced.
“Thank you, Hagrid.” The stern looking woman wearing green said before turning a sharp gaze onto them. “Welcome, all of you, to Hogwarts Academy of Pokémon Training and Aura. In just a moment you all will be brought into the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony, during which you will be sorted into your houses. Your houses will be your family while here at Hogwarts and will share in your victories and failures; only one house will be presented with the house cup at the end of the year. The houses Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin each have their own noble history and have produced many trainers of great renown. I suggest you all smarten up in the few minutes you have before we go in.” Professor McGonagall left the room and excited and worried whispers immediately erupted from the crowd.
“My brother, Fred, said the way they sort you is through a test of seeing how well you battle a Dynamax pokémon!” Ron fretted while Harri heard Hermione start repeating facts from the textbooks to herself after she overheard Ron say ‘test’. She frowned slightly when some of the mutterings were about her: some of them speculating on what her pokémon would be, if she’d be as good a trainer as her parents, and the odds of her following her parents into Gryffindor. The whispers and murmurs changed into screams of fright as several ghost type pokemon flew into the room and circled above them. Harri, used to ghost type antics thanks to Dreepy and having spent so much time with Allister, just smiled at their antics. She had no idea what everyone was making such a fuss about; it was just some harmless fun!
“That’s enough out of all of you, move along now!” Professor McGonagall’s voice sharply rang out. She looked them all over, apparently not quite satisfied but out of time to give them, and waved them over. “Make a line and if you can’t keep your pokémon well behaved you must return them. Having a pokémon partner walking beside you is a privilege not a right!” They all took a moment to form a line and were swiftly marched into the Great Hall. Harri took in the four long tables (arranged with two on each side of the room leaving a decent gap in the middle), the staff table on a raised platform opposite the main door and the ceiling that reflected the outside night sky.
“It’s not actually the sky,” she heard Hermione whisper. “Aura was used to get it to mimic what the sky looks like. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.” Harri made a mental note to see if the library had that book. It could be useful in helping her make an outline for places to explore first. Professor McGonagall had them stay in the center of the room (where their line immediately morphed into a clump) as she strode to the front of the room and stopped just before the raised platform hosting the other staff members. Right in front of her was a three legged stool and marking the four points of a square around the stool were four crystallized flowers.
“When I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool to be sorted by the spirits of the founder’s partners.” As soon as she finished speaking each crystal flower glowed and suddenly erupted with shining light. When the light cleared the spectral forms of four pokémon stood over the flowers. Harri and the others gaped at the realization that the four school founders had each had a legendary pokémon as a partner. Solgaleo, Terrakion, Galarain Articuno, and Rayquazza bounded and flew over to their respective tables, to the cheers of the students sitting there, before racing back to their places and focusing on the huddle of first years. It was an impressive and intimidating display. The surrounding tables went silent as Professor McGonagall called out the first name. “Abbott, Hannah!” A girl with blond hair done into twin tails slowly walked up with a Buneary by her side. She entered the circle and the four spectral pokémon turned their full attention to her when she sat down. They looked at her for a little until Terrakion bellowed. The table to their right decorated with yellow erupted into cheers and shouts of ‘Hufflepuff!’ as Hanna quickly made her way over and sat down.
“Bones, Susan!” Susan had her red shoulder length hair left down and made her way up with a Rookidee on her shoulder. Agan Terrakion bellowed and the Hufflepuff table cheered. Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst were the next two called up and each was sent to Ravenclaw at Articuno’s cry. Lavender Brown was the first to be sent to Gryffindor and the students welcoming her cheered as if Solgaleo’s roar wasn’t loud enough. Millicent Bulstrode, Pangoro marching proudly next to her, went to Slytherin under Rayquazza’s deep rumble. Harri perked up at the familiar name, noting that Millicent must be Marnie’s cousin that she had been told would be attending Hogwarts, and resolved to make friends with her. Although her attention was starting to lag, the sorting continued to fly by with Justin Finch-Fletchley going to Hufflepuff, Seamus Finnigan going to Griffindor, Hermione going to Ravenclaw after a longer time spent on the stool, Daphne Greengrass going to Slytherin, and Neville going to Hufflepuff. He looked relieved, but also nervous as he held tight to Trevor. Another girl, Morag McDougal, was sent to Ravenclaw before a rather arrogant looking blond boy was called up.
“Malfoy, Draco!” He swaggered up to the stool, Skorupi by his side, like he owned the entire castle and had barely sat down before Rayquazza was rumbling. Now that Harri was paying attention, she realized that there wasn’t as much cheering. When the others had been sorted their house cheered the loudest, but the others also threw in some cheers. But whenever someone was sorted into Slytherin their house gave them a calmer greeting and the other houses barely made a sound. The pattern repeated as a Cindy Moon was sorted into Ravenclaw, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson into Slytherin, Padma Patil into Ravenclaw, Parvati Patil into Gryffindor, and Sally-Anna Perks into Hufflepuff. It was strange and Harri didn’t like it. She was so distracted that she would have missed her own name being called if Ghost hadn’t nudged her. “Potter, Harriet!” The Great Hall went silent before breaking out into whispers. Harri grit her teeth as she walked forward. Everyone was staring at her and she could already hear people making comparisons from what they had heard or thought they knew about her to what they saw. The noise mercifully stopped when she sat on the stool and she realized the spectral legendaries must be stopping it.
“Oh! What a strong bond you have with your pokémon friends.” Harri blinked in surprise as Terrakion’s deep voice echoed in her head.
“There’s quite the thirst for knowledge as well, you’d do well in my house.” Articuno said.
“Don’t forget about my house!” Solgaleo rumbled. “Lots of courage in this one. It takes guts to run away from home so young and live in the wilds!” The three pokémon descended into bickering as each argued with the others that she belonged in their house while Rayquazza just stared at her.
“Let the girl decide.” Rayquazza hissed and the other three looked at it in confusion before nodding in agreement. “Child, you have the qualities of all of our houses. We could be here forever trying to decide where you go, so we will need your assistance in selecting your house. Think on this question: where do you see yourself in the future?”
Where did she see herself in the future? Harri was going to be the gym leader of the fairy type gym, she was going to be a great pokémon trainer, but most of all Harri was going to be recognized for her own accomplishments. The legacy of the Girl-Who-Lived would remain a silly story of the past as she carved her own path, one not based on who her parents were or what they’d accomplished. “Very well,” Rayquazza hissed, “better be: Slytherin!” And Rayquazza’s rumble silenced the mutterings so thoroughly that Harri thought the legendaries’ bubble of quiet had followed her to her new house table. A hesitant applause came from the other Slytherins as the rest of the school broke out into discontent whispers. Harri focused solely on petting Ghost and ignoring the increased stares that now had glares mixed in as the sorting continued. Dean Thomas went to Gryffindor, Lisa Turpin to Ravenclaw, Ron to Gryffindor and finally Blaise Zabini to Slytherin. The spectral pokémon each let out a final cry before vanishing in a burst of light. Professor McGonagall collected the crystal flowers and the stool as Headmaster Dumbledore rose to his feet.
“To our new students, welcome! Welcome to Hogwarts and to our returners, welcome back!” He smiled genially before continuing. “I know we are all very excited for the opening feast so I shall be brief in my words of welcome. They are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you and dig in!” Harri eyed him cautiously as food appeared on the dishes spread throughout the table. He had a decent harmless idiot act going on, but she could feel his aura. It was alert and actively scanning everything around him: both the teachers and students (she pulled her aura in tighter, almost smothering it to keep his from overly touching hers). If his aura wasn’t enough of a clue, Opal had warned her not to underestimate the Headmaster. He had a lot of power and influence and was the one responsible for placing her with her relatives for her own ‘safety’. He’d been making false reports about her for several years and she had no desire to spend time with the man who had never checked to see if she was actually as well taken care of as he’d claimed.
“So, Potter.” The blond boy, Malfoy, drawled. “Where have you been all these years?” She finished adding some mashed potatoes to her plate before acknowledging him.
“Some boring little nowhere town until I was seven. Then I traveled a lot.” The other first years turned to listen and even some of the older students sitting close by seemed to start paying attention.
“Traveling is good. My Father takes us to Alola every summer. He’s currently working on aiding Paldea’s entrance to the Interregional League Conference so we can vacation there.” Harri hummed in interest. Each region had their own league and governing body, but joining the Interregional League Conference was a big deal. It allowed for research to be conducted into the pokémon and phenomenon native to each region (like Galar’s Dynamaxing) and for trainers to travel to new places.
“What’s with the Umbreon?” A burly upper year asked. “Students aren’t supposed to bring pokémon their relatives raised and I don’t remember anything about either Potter having an Umbreon, let alone a shiny one.”
“Ghost is mine. We’ve been together since I was seven and he was an Eevee. It was just luck that let me find him.” Harri had to grit her teeth. Everything always came back to her parents and Ghost being shiny would always get them attention. He couldn’t help his coloration and she couldn’t help who her parents were. They’d just have to work hard and get people to start seeing them for themselves. The rest of the feast passed quickly and Harri slowly learned a little about her new year mates. Despite many of them sporting serious demeanors, everyone was nice enough and willing to joke around at least a little bit. The end of the feast brought an announcement from the Headmaster to remind everyone that they were to stay out of the Forbidden Forest except for when brought in for classes, battling was forbidden in the corridors, clubs and sports could start accepting new members during the second week of term, and that the right-side third-floor corridor was out of bounds this year unless students wished to experience a very painful death (and he said that with a smile).
Harri joined the others in gathering around one of their prefects (Gemma Farley) and they were led through the dungeon. She took careful note of where they were going (much of the dungeon's corridors looked the same), it wouldn’t do to not be able to find the entrance to the dorms, and the password that would allow them through the stone under a decorative archway carved with various snake pokémon. A large curved window offered a view of the inside of the Black Lake with several water pokémon swimming calmly in front of it. There was an almost green glow from light streaming through the water, but there were also several green tapestries, couches, chairs, and rugs (all with silver accents) that contributed to the green atmosphere. A large fireplace threw heat into the space and made the entire room rather cozy. At the prefects’ urgings they lingered in the common room until their head of house arrived.
* * * * * *
Severus Snape was not typically a happy man. His childhood had been a blur of fear and torment at the hands of his father, his school years a constant battle against bullies, and his early adult years hadn’t been much better seeing as he’d been embroiled in a bloody war. The end of the war hadn’t brought him much relief. His once best friend had died and he’d had to throw himself under Albus’s mercy to keep himself out of prison, resulting in him being stuck as a ruddy school teacher. Yes, Hogwarts was one of the best schools (and that reputation should reflect on the quality of the students it accepted) and yes he was a genius at Item Crafting (no, it wasn’t worth examining why he’d had to focus so much on making items for himself that he’d discovered a natural talent), but that didn’t mean he enjoyed actually teaching. Severus had found that most students, particularly those who started their academic journey after the uncertainty of the war had tampered down, didn’t see the point of knowing how to make their own items; they could easily buy them after all. Item Crafting was an ancient and noble art and it infuriated him that he had to essentially force some of his cherished knowledge into the idiot heads of disinterested children. As if the dawning of a new year of torture was’t enough, this was the year. The child of Potter, his one-time tormentor, and Lily, his one-time closest friend, had graced the halls of Hogwarts at last.
She looked so much like them and yet was so different. There was Potter’s hair and Lily’s eyes, but there was none of Potter’s arrogant self-confidence (no, it appeared his own godson had that in spades) or Lily’s open sense of wonder; instead she had a calm assurance about herself. Perhaps she was just on her best behavior for the sorting and the opening feast and the following days would reveal the wild exuberance that Albus had described in his reports, but he had doubts. For one Albus had made no report of the girl’s aura being out of control, but she was clearly being affected by it if the fang-like teeth and the near glowing eyes he spotted were anything to go by. He would ask Filius to discreetly check on the status of her aura when she had his class.
There was also the girl’s pokémon to take into consideration (and the fact that she was covering her scar up in a way to make them match). He’d checked the registration and it was indeed her pokémon, not one she’d borrowed or traded for. It wasn’t unheard of for new students to arrive at Hogwarts with an evolved pokémon, they could get their first one at age 10 and start training them right away if they were so motivated after all, but it was rare. It would give the girl a massive advantage over all of her peers in her year group in battles. He resolved to keep an eye out to make sure she wouldn’t use her stronger pokémon to push other students around (he was going to keep a close eye on her before, but now he had a decent excuse at least). Severus was pleased to see that the prefects had kept his house in the common room to wait for him to make his welcoming speech.
“Welcome everyone to the noble house of Slytherin.” He intoned, running his eyes over all his students. “While you are here this is your family and that means you will treat it as such. You will help each other, especially outside the common room. The other houses believe Slytherin to foster the worst trainers and will not hesitate to make their disdain clear. You may squabble all you like in here, the prefects and myself will be available to help mediate disputes, but out in the wider school you will display a united front.” He paused to let the first years take in his words. As expected some looked a bit put out that they would be judged for something as nonsensical as their house. “Slytherin is the house of the cunning and ambitious. We do what we must to get ahead and if you must break the rules then do not get caught. Hogwarts offers many sports and clubs, but remains a school. If the majority of your grades fall below an exceeds expectations you will be removed from all clubs and sports until your grades are brought up. Tutoring is offered by the upper years and will be mandatory for those whose grades slip. Schedules will be handed out at breakfast tomorrow so I suggest everyone gets to sleep so as not to miss it.” Severus watched as his students all quickly filed out of the common room toward their dorms. He retreated to his office and sighed while rubbing his forehead. Something was telling him that this year was going to be difficult.