First Sunrise
Chapter 5- First Sunrise
Harry felt the edges of exhaustion slowly fade away- he couldn't even remember falling asleep. But it had been wonderful, he hadn't felt so rested in forever.
It was almost blissful.
His eyes cracked open and he noted that the room was still pitch black. The furnace must have gone out sometime in the night.
It did feel noticeably colder than it had the night before.
Sitting up, Harry was stopped in place.
His head banged against wood hard.
He fell back onto the mattress below and both his hands shot up to hold his forehead,
waiting for the pain to go from sharp pulsating into a more bearable awareness.
...what had he even hit?
Harry reached up and felt around in the darkness, but instead of soft velvet curtains
…his hand traced against splintered wood.
No.
He moved to stretch his legs but was met with more resistance.
His hands flitted around wherever he could reach,
and with each familiar sensation,
his panic only grew.
No- no no no no
Harry fell off the mattress that now felt stiff.
The air reeked of damp mildew and metal almost suffocatingly so.
Hands shot out-
fingers grasping around a cold metal chain and pulling.
The light turned on.
.
.
.
He was back in the cupboard
The chain shook from his grasp,
his entire being trembling so violently he couldn't force himself to stop
- it hurt.
He couldn't breathe.
He wanted out.
The walls themselves seemed to turn in on him,
growing closer,
and closer.
He scrambled on the bed, begging his limbs to comply.
Each movement felt heavy,
his heart banging against his ribcage and
screaming to be let out.
But no sound escaped his lips
outside of panicked half wheezing breaths.
He was consumed by an almost desperate primal distress
that he had no hope of overcoming.
A banging assaulted his ears-
followed by a deafening shout of
“BOYYYY-”!!!!
The door swung open and hands shot in,
grabbing at his limbs
so hard
he could feel the bones straining to stay in place.
But he could not move,
he could not scream,
as he was dragged away from his bed.
Vernons face was distorted,
bright red and twisted with a cruel smile.
It looked demonic.
His hands grew into claws that dug at Harry's skin
and pierced into his flesh.
They began to rip.
Harry wanted out-
He needed out
Gorey misshapen fingers reached out
grasped around his neck.
Lungs finally gave way.
He screamed.
.
.
.
Harry shot up.
Still trembling, but the excruciating pain that had emanated from every bone in his body was now gone.
He felt gross, sweat dripping down his face.
His chest shuttered with panting breaths as he tried to grasp onto reality.
It was dark, but when his hand shot out to grasp in the darkness they found soft fabric. He ripped open the curtains and a few stray tears fell down his cheeks in utter relief as he looked around his Slytherinn dorm.
The room still pitch black except for the glow of a much dimmer, but still a lit furnace in the center of the room. Curtains around Theo and Blaise beds were still shut tight, and with no windows anywhere nearby he had no clue what time it was.
But- as comforting as his bed was, it was now just a bit too sweaty and his eyes were a bit too raw to try attempting to fall asleep again.
Harry closed the door to his dorm as gently as he could, not wanting to rouse his new roommates. Starting down the hall he couldn't help but feel the childish sense of wonder wash over him once again.
Moss stone walls giving way to beautiful stained glass ceilings- water flowing freely on the other side, yet nothing of note was visible except for the soft bluish light dancing across the floor as the water swayed above.
The common room itself was practically a ghost town, Harry had noted the utter lack of commotion and did what he did best, make himself small and unseen.
He’d already taken a bath, and had to force himself to get out before he fell asleep. It was a first, he'd been able to bathe without the threat of his Uncle Vernon banging on the door and screaming about the water bill.
So of course he took his time.
But even now, he was alone.
In a room far bigger than he'd ever been allowed to be in. It may have been a cave, but a small part of him felt free as he traced his hand over marble detailing and furniture so soft he could probably melt into it.
Well- Harry wasn't allowed to leave the dorm last night, but they didn't say anything about in the morning. And surely that bit of light from the windows meant it had to be at least four in the morning.
His throat felt raw as well, and he could go for some more of whatever juice they had yesterday. Though maybe they had some Apple too.
After slipping back into the dorm to leave a note for his friends, he grabbed his wand and headed back out and up the spiraling staircase and out of the common room.
He glanced down the hall and spotted two ornate black wood doors with silver detailing, and seemingly by instinct he knew that was where Professor Snape's office was. Part of him wanted to go apologize for last night, he didn't want to be hated so soon. But he felt bursting in at the crack of dawn wouldn't be met so well.
“What's a little hatchling like yourself doing out and about so early”? A silvery voice called out of seemingly nowhere making Harry spin around, his wand pointed at the source.
Leaned up against once the pillars stood a boy in slytherin robes, but Harry didn't recognize him from the fireplace meeting the night before. He looked down at Harry’s wand that was pointed at him…backwards. He let out a chuckle, uncrossing his legs and striding forward.
“You got good instinct I'll give you that, but the spells come out that end mkay”? He reached forward and gestured to the end pointed at Harry.
Harry flushed “I knew that- who are you”?
The boy looked up at Harry and he could see the moment he realized, his cocky posture stuttered just for a moment. Before he fell into a sly side step “Well well well, Heir Potter, names Marcus Flint- the pleasure is mine”
Harry blinked “Oh- you were with the other boy in the infirmary, the one with the flu”?
Marcus lifted his brow and smirked “Flu huh? That's how they spun it then”
Harry was waiting for an elaboration, but Marcus didn't give one.
“So back to my first question, what are you doing up so early hatchling”?
Harry frowned “Why do you call me that”?
“Every house calls the baby years something, Ravenclaws have chicks, Hufflepuffs say pups, and Gryffindors” Marcus expression twisted into a sneer “Call the itty ones cubs-”
Harry nodded, a bit glad that he found this out now than be confused later on “I was just- so excited for class that I couldn't sleep”
Marcus froze in his pacing and looked at Harry, his smug smirk falling into something more contemplative “Hmm. If you're going to try and lie, be careful with your body language- it's a dead give away. Most are too daft to notice but you’re in the snake den afterall”
That was- surprisingly sound advice coming from a guy who was acting like he was a mouse to be batted around for his amusement. Marcus was very cat-like.
“Well since you're up- I was going to meet a few friends in the grand hall, care to follow or do you wish to test lady luck against the moving staircases”?
The staircases moved? Okay some of this magic stuff was starting to read as more inconvenient than anything else.
“If you wouldn't mind, i'd be grateful”
Marcus grinned, but before Harry could have any second thoughts- he spun on his heel and began marching up the stairs. “Come along now we haven't got all day- except, well I guess we do,”
Harry didn't want to wait and see if Marcus would abandon him in some random hall if he was too slow, so he did his best to keep pace with the older boy.
Unfortunately this meant he couldn't admire the architecture he hadn't seen the night before, including the four giant glass tours, clearly covered in motifs of each house.
Marcus had noticed him staring at them “Those are the house vials, each ball is a point- most points at the end of the year wins you bragging rights”
“That's it”? Harry muttered
“Ha-exactly, now come on- and watch the armor, sometimes they duel in the mornings”
Marcus opened the next set of doors, and the several armored knights were not dueling, but they were moving around as if they were alive. Maybe they were, Harry would have to ask around.
The final set of doors was pushed aside and Harry was once again greeted with the ambiance of the great hall. Though he noted the fire pits from the previous night were gone and seemingly replaced with actual fireplaces. That and the entire room itself seemed much bigger.
Harry spotted food already set out, though much sparser than the night before. Then again that was called a “feast”. At the tables there were only a dozen students at most, and those who were there were hunched over books or talking quietly in small groups.
“Marcus, there you are, I was worried you would ditch me” A familiar voice called out and there stood Percy Weasley, his black robes from the night before replaced with an impeccably styled white button up and dark red sweater vest.
“You? I'd never- Wood on the other hand…” Marcus trailed off, though his tone sounded nothing but teasing “Besides- I was busy helping one of the newbies” he gestured over to Harry.
Percy glanced over and pushed up his glasses with a smile “Oh Harry, how was your first night"?
"It's been amazing- and woah, you have face spots too- I um mean Freckles"
Marcus lifted his brow and Percy only smiled more "Ah- I do, say I noticed your glasses were fixed, I imagine someone updated the prescription as well"?
Harry nodded "Cassius did" he remembered the moment very clearly, and the expressions after- "Oh shoot he wanted to talk to me this morning"
Fuck he was going to be angry-
Marcus let out a small snort "Yeah no- Warrington is a lot of things, but a morning person isn't one of them"
That was- good. Meant Harry had plenty of time.
"Percy? Is this your best friend you were talking about"?
Marcus' expression stuttered again and he looked at Percy with an unreadable face. Percy only nodded at Harry "Yes he is one of my best friends, speaking of would you like to join us for breakfast? It will be a while before any other snakes join us and no one should eat their first meal alone"
Harry glanced over to Marcus, he didn't want to impose. But Marcus' eyes were glued solely on Percy so he just nodded. Percy smiled and beckoned them both over to the Slytherin table.
He was much less overwhelmed than the night before so picking a meal wasn't as intimidating a task. He went for bacon and eggs with some toast and what Percy informed him was Pumpkin juice. How odd.
But there was still one question on his mind, “Um Flint? I thought you didn't like Gryffindors- you made a face earlier”
Marcus turned to him and tilted his head “A face huh”?
Harry nodded
“Well you're right- I don't like Gryffindors, Percy is the only one I willingly associate myself with”
Percy swallowed the grape in his mouth and lifted a brow “Your friends with Oliver”
“Ah ah- I said willingly”
That earned him a half hearted shove from the redhead who then turned his attention to Harry.
“So Harry, what are your classes today”?
“I have no idea” Harry said “I did look around for a paper- but I guess I woke up too early to get one”
Percy just beamed “Oh Marcus give me your quill”
“Seriously”? He groaned “Why can't you use your own”?
“You'll get it back later- I doubt Harry would take it, besides you always end up borrowing mine anyways”
Despite Marcus' protests, he did in fact give Percy a plain looking black feather quill.
“Now then- this is an advanced take on a basic summoning charm as well as switching spell, that you'll learn in your fourth year- but I recommend learning it sooner for how handy it is” Percy placed the quill onto the breakfast table and pulled out his wand.
Now that Harry got a closer look he couldn't help but admire the spiral-like detailing on the wand that looked like vines overlapping each other and yet it looked perfectly neat.
“Normally a switching spell is a simultaneous transfiguration, but since it only takes the form and not the full properties of an object it would be useless to do that for your schedule since its charms would become null” Percy rambled and while Harry understood a lot of those words, separately, he felt lost.
Marcus took a bite of a bright red apple in his hand before speaking with his mouth full “Schedules have tons of magic to try and prevent you losing track of time and getting lost, so just recreating it means you'll still have to go get yours later- and thats too many staircases”
That Harry could definitely agree with.
Percy scolded Marcus not to speak with his mouth full, to which Marcus just began chewing with his mouth open. Percy's face screwed up and he seemed to hold back a gag- turning purposefully back to Harry.
“Anyways- I will summon your class schedule, but in turn Marcus quill will take its place”
Percy pointed his wand at the quill and uttered the phrase “Reditio Libelus”! And with a bright flash of white light the quill vanished, and in its place floated down a yellow stained parchment.
Marcus snatched the parchment out of thin air and then handed it to Percy. The boy pushed up his glasses and muttered a small thanks before looking it over
“Alright let's see now- Your first class begins at 8:00 sharp, its Charms with Professor Filtwick”
“I thought breakfast lasted until 9”?
“That's quite right” Percy hummed “But as you get older your day may start later, or if you had astronomy the night before-”
Marcus groaned “Fuck I forgot my homework”
“Language-” Percy hissed and batted him away, “I’ll help you after im done with Harry”
Harry was about to say he was fine without the help but Percy continued steamrolling through his schedule.
“Oh of course- your stuck with Gryffindors for Flying and Potions, oh in godrics name half your classes are with lions, I swear its like they do it on purpose” Percy rubbed the bridge of his nose
“Aren't you Gryffindor”?
“Yes I am- and I probably have 50% of the entire houses tact and self control, Angelica and Katie split the other 45” Percy sighed “Besides I was almost a snake- not that Marcus ever lets me forget”
Marcus did a motion of angrily shaking his fist at the ceiling that made Harry chuckle, but when Percy looked over he was peacefully eating his apple once more. Percy did not look convinced.
“Anyways just ignore their goading, i'm sure you've noticed not everyone has the… best opinions towards Slytherins, to be fair I was no better except out of force”
“What do you mean”? Harry questioned.
But if Percy answered, he didn't hear it- his attention grabbed by a side door slamming open and a boy tumbling through. A flash of red and black- suddenly both Percy and Marcus let out matching shrieks as they were tackled.
The boy responsible had a Gryffindor tie completely undone and half falling off his shoulders. He practically put all his weight on the duo and beamed at them with a smile so wide it looked like it hurt.
He only paused when he seemed to notice Harry and he removed his arm from around Percy's shoulder, reaching over the table to greet Harry and dragging a Marcus who looked like he was holding back a growl.
“Oliver please you're going to suffocate him-” Percy scolded, though he did look just a bit amused at Marcus' situation.
Oliver seemed to remember himself and released Marcus “Oh don't be such a Crabbit- see your fine”
Marcus did his best to resituate his hair which was now sticking up “Good morning to you too Wood-”
“ANYWAYS who's this wee one? Oh a Slytherin? My name is Oliver Wood i’m the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain"! Oliver definitely did not sound British, then again Harry hadn't heard any accent like it before. Though his presence alone was like the fucking sun and Harry was going to go blind, he appreciated the enthusiasm but it was just a tad overwhelming.
“Im Harry Potter” he gulped “Also um- what's Quidditch”?
Percy looked at Harry with an expression that could only be described as sheer horror. Harry tried not to panic, his muscles tensed as he readied himself to bolt.
The only thing stopping him from blurting out a string of desperate apologies was the fact his lungs had seized up. Just like his dream Except now there was no demon uncle, this was real. He was fucked.
His eyes quickly darted to Oliver and Marcus, gauging the threat but he found-
None.
Both boys were practically buzzing in place, jaws open and eyes sparkling. Harry was so shocked his panic all but halted to make way for pure confusion.
“You don't know Quidditch”!?! They shouted in almost unison.
The unison fell off immediately as they both began rambling over one another- only stopping to correct each other on things he hadn't even heard before.
It was like opening flood gates and Harry felt like he was drowning in information. But any attempt to interrupt was fruitless as they seemed to both be caught up in doing random wild gestures but they only got louder.
Heck their lecture had turned on each other instead of Harry as they rattled off statistics and information that didn't make a lick of sense to the poor boy.
Percy seemed to be trying to get them to sit down and shut up, shooting several apologetic looks to Harry who was quickly trying to disappear under his seat. Apparently he knew this was coming and his “horror” was out of embarrassment of what was to come.
Harry saw a flash of blue light and suddenly a shimmering blue shield seemed to manifest around the duo who were now rambling to each other with building enthusiasm. Their voices now were completely muffled to him.
“Thank you Penelope,” Percy sighed, pushing up his glasses.
A tall girl with wavy blonde hair that fell down to her hips stood in a ravenclaw robe, her light colored wand with an almost marble like handle was pointed at the duo “Hello little snake- I’m Penelope Clearwater, Ravenclaw prefect and unfortunately friends with these idiots”
It seemed Marcus and Oliver finally realized Harry couldn't hear them anymore. Oliver reached out to poke the force field only to flinch back and stick his finger in his mouth with a glare.
Penelope raised a brow “If you both promise not to overwhelm the poor kid- I will allow you out- it's too early for a condensed Quidditch history lecture, understood”?
Marcus glared while Oliver frantically nodded, giving what Harry assumed were his best puppy dog eyes.
Penelope rolled her eyes but with a flick of her wand the shield vanished.
“As I was tryin to say- You can't’ve lived life without knowin Quidditch- how in Merlin's name you gone so long avoiding it alone” Oliver protested dramatically, now sitting himself on a seat between Marcus and Percy.
Penelope more graciously took a seat besides Percy and offered Harry what looked like a type of bread. He accepted it and took a bite.
“Oh woah- what is this”?
“It's a Croissant- its known as a French pastry, but it actually originated in Austria”
Well- the more you know. Harry took another bite.
“Well for once- I can agree with this assh-” A glare from Penelope made Marcus stand up straighter “astounding- I was going to say astounding observation by our beloved Wood”
Penelope raised a brow but Marcus continued
“Quidditch is a flying sport, and even the most pompous snakes might get a little more talkative when given the chance to discuss their favorite teams- but seriously were you not aware of the best game ever”?
So it was a strong culture thing as well, his books had mentioned quidditch but didn't go into detail on the rules past just a few games results. “I read about it in Hogwarts an Extended History, but they didn't talk much about the game itself”
The group went silent and Penelope just cooed at him while Marcus began insisting he was an imposter. Percy and Oliver just had matching looks of exhaustion and Percy muttered under his breath about “Oh god there's more of them-”
“More of who”? Harry had a hunch.
“One of my cubs is… very well read- but also she's Muggleborn”
A small part of Harry seemed to wilt at the idea of Percy being like Malfoy in that way. But instead Percy continued “But unlike the other cubs of her background, she seems very stubborn in learning about social etiquette or culture- and well, I can't make her, but I worry about her making friends if she keep it up for much longer”
Penelope just snickered and pat his shoulder “Oh I got you- want me to help with her? I still remember my overachieving ass getting death glares for raising my hand at every question”
She glanced over at Harry and seemed to notice something the rest didn't “I'm Muggleborn too little snake, I heard a rumor you were raised by Muggles but I'm guessing it has more weight than other rumors around you huh”?
Other rumors? That's no surprise.
But Harry nodded, ignoring the shocked looks on Oliver and Marcus' faces.
“Well i'm sure you’ve been made aware there's a lot of cultural differences- for one a lot of Muggle schools rely on participation and grades to set you apart as an excelling student”
Penelope smirked to herself “Grades are still important, but results more so- and coming from a Ravenclaw we may be the smart house but some of my housemates grades are abysmal”
“I remember being so upset I wasn't qualified for Ravenclaw, thought it meant I wasn't smart enough.” Percy shook his head “But after one too many nights finding out a Ravenclaw had neglected homework to study some niche magizoology theory- I was less upset”
So Ravenclaw wasn't just being smart or well read- it was the desire for knowledge. No wonder everyone was so convinced he would make a perfect Ravenclaw.
“Anyways- you have your first flying lesson today yeah”? Marcus asked and Oliver was practically bouncing in place “Oh Godric ya gonna love it”
Harry nodded but Oliver spoke again, stealing a Croissant from Marcus plate as he looked at Harry. “Seriously though- Flying is freedom, its tha wind in yer hair and knowin nothin can hold you down”
Freedom huh- that prospect definitely excited Harry.
“Harry”! A voice called out and Harry turned away as Marcus shoved Oliver half off the bench. Blaise and Theodore approached the table, looking at him with matching masked expressions with the others there. Something he quickly realized was a habit.
“Who are all of you”? Blaise asked, placing himself right next to Harry.
Marcus smirked “Higgs wasn't kidding when he said you had fangs- Im Marcus Flint”
The rest of the upper years introduced themselves and Harry explained how he met Marcus and them joining him so he wouldn't eat breakfast alone. With that both Blaise and Theo seemed to relax, taking their seats on either side of Harry as they began to enjoy their own breakfasts.
The upper years left pretty soon after, Marcus reminding Percy of his homework to which Oliver sheepishly confessed he also forgot. After they left they were soon joined by Daphne who looked none too pleased about waking up so early, and Theo had to lunge forward to stop her from falling asleep in her oatmeal.
Slowly but surely the rest of the hall filled up with students- most coming in at the last minute before classes were said to begin. Harry was extremely relieved to see that he had the exact same class schedule as his friends and wouldn't have to go any part of the day completely alone.
Hogwarts First Year Schedule
Slytherin
Harry C J, Potter
1.Charms, with Professor Filtwick
Slytherin & Gryffindor
2.Transfiguration, with Professor McGonnagall
Slytherin & Ravenclaw
3.Potions, with Professor Snape
Slytherin & Gryffindor
4.History, with Professor Binns
Slytherin & Hufflepuff
5.Flying, with Madame Hooch
Slytherin & Gryffindor
6.Defense, with Professor Quirrell
Slytherin & Hufflepuff
7.Herbology, with Professor Sprout
Slytherin & Gryffindor
8.Astronomy with, Professor Sinistra
*Wednesday and Friday from 8-10PM
Slytherin & Ravenclaw
It was set to be an… eventful day, but Harry was excited nonetheless. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?