In Many Forms

The feast in the great hall had been wonderful. After the sorting ceremony Headmaster Dumbledore stood, welcomed them all, and food had appeared on the tables right in front of their faces. The older students seemed used to it, even some of the first-years, like Cedric, didn’t seem fazed. 

Cedric had laughed at Anna’s bewildered expression and explained that for the purebloods and half-bloods magic was an everyday thing. To Anna it still felt like the stuff of fairy-tales. 

The food itself had left something to be desired. She’d picked at the large bowl of peas that sat on the table in front of her while the students around her devoured chicken legs, shepherd's pies, and lamb chops. Just glancing at those foods sent a shiver of cold dread down her spine—dread that wasn’t her own. 

Despite the food leaving something to be desired, she’d enjoyed herself. Cedric had told her some stories he knew about Hogwarts, like the moving staircases and the doors to nowhere, he even pointed out some of the ghosts to her. And she’d laughed along as older students messed around and told jokes that she didn’t really understand. 

All too soon, the Headmaster rose from his seat and beckoned a moment of quiet. 

“Now that we’re all stuffed full,” Dumbledore began, “I think it’s time for bed. Classes will begin on Monday, but until then, rest, settle in, and perhaps catch up on your summer assignments.” He winked knowingly at the room full of students. 

With Dumbledore’s speech concluded, the room broke into a flurry of black robes. Older students left the Great Hall in droves, breaking out in various directions across the castle. Anna pinched the sleeve of Cedric’s robes and they huddled together at the table, unsure what to do. 

“First-years, this way!” several voices called out across the Hall. 

“Gryffindors with me!” 

“Hufflepuffs! Follow me to the dorms.” 

Anna spotted an older student sporting a tie the same yellow as the Hufflepuff house banners and she pulled Cedric in that direction. They had to battle the crowd a bit, which was eager to sweep them out of the Hall entirely. But they managed to find their way towards the Hufflepuff student, who stood on one of the benches at the end of the table, surrounded by a huddle of first-years. 

“Looks like that’s it, then.” The boy jumped off the bench with a thud that was lost in the rumblings of the crowd. 

“Welcome first-years! I’m Christian, one of your house Prefects.” He was a tall boy, with messy brown hair and a dimpled smile. “I am here to guide and help you if you run into any trouble, but for tonight my only job is to guide you all to the common room. Follow me.” 

Christian turned and led them out of the Great Hall along with the rest of the dwindling crowd. Though, unlike most of the students, who were heading up the many staircases, the Hufflepuffs walked down a long staircase off the side of the entrance hall. Like the rest of the castle, the stairs were lit by torches mounted on the walls. The glow of the flames threw odd shadows over the stone. 

The staircase seemed to go on for ages and Anna clutched Cedric’s hand as they shuffled as carefully as they could down the steps, all the while unable to see their own feet in the dense group of first-years. A small bit of relief went through Anna when they finally made it to the broad corridor at the base of the stairs. 

The stone walls of the corridor were lined with paintings of food. Christian led them further down the corridor towards the largest painting, which showed a bronze bowl overflowing with fruit. The Prefect stopped in front of the painting and glanced at the younger students over his shoulder. 

“I do hope you’re paying attention,” he said with a smile. Christian reached out towards the painting and brushed his fingers over the large pear inside the bowl. 

Cedric leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Is he tickling that painting?”

Yes, Anna believed that’s exactly what the Prefect was doing, odd as it was. But before she could respond to Cedric, the painting—or rather the pear within the painting—let out a squeaky giggle and with a pop transformed into a large green doorknob, which stuck out of the painting. 

Christian twisted the doorknob and pulled. The large painting swung open like a door and Christian stood beside it, gesturing for the astonished first-years to step inside. 

Anna, her hand still squeezed tight in Cedric’s, stepped into the large room beyond the painting. The room had a high ceiling, four long tables that stretched the length of the room, and a massive brick fireplace blazing at the far end of the room. It looked remarkably like the Great Hall, though this room had stacks upon stacks of pots and pans along the walls and dirty dishes piled high onto the long tables. High-pitched voices filled the room, all talking over each other, though Anna couldn’t see anyone but the students that surrounded her, who were silent. 

“Welcome to the kitchens,” said Christian. “This way, please.” 

Anna caught a glimpse of large, floppy ears behind a mound of pots before she was taken, along with the group, into a small nook off to the right of the room. The first years all squeezed together into the little nook, which was dark and smelled faintly of vinegar. Cedric squeezed closer to Anna’s back as the students pressed together in front of Christian. She could feel his breath in her hair as he looked over her shoulder at the Prefect, who stood in front of a wall stacked high with barrels.  

Christian pulled a slender wand from the inner pocket of his robes and glanced at the first years to make sure they were watching. 

“To enter the Hufflepuff dormitories, all you need to do is tap this barrel—” he pointed his wand at a barrel in the middle of the second row, which didn’t look different from any of the others “—like so.” 

Christian tapped his wand on the rim of the barrel, first two long taps and then three short ones. The wall of barrels began to quiver and shift. The barrels rolled against each other, piling higher to reveal a large, round opening in the centre of the wall. 

“Follow me,” said Christian. He stuffed his wand back into his robes and hoisted himself into the opening. The first-years stood stunned for a moment before someone at the front of the group eagerly jumped into the opening and crawled after the Prefect. Then, they were all rushing to follow. 

Cedric climbed into the hole first and checked over his shoulder to make sure Anna was behind him. They crawled on hands and knees for a brief moment. The passage soon opened up into a round corridor, which was high enough to stand in. 

Anna watched over the shoulders of students ahead of her as Christian came to a round wooden door and pushed it open. Yellow light flooded the corridor and beckoned the students towards it. Anna reached out for the sleeve of Cedric’s robes again as they got closer and closer to the door. When they finally stepped through the round door, Anna’s breath left her chest. 

Soft sunlight flooded the room beyond the round door, though Anna knew it was dark outside the castle. The room itself was large and circular. The ceiling was low and from it hung various potted plants, their leaves and vines tangled together to create a thick canopy overhead. Small windows lined the walls close to the ceiling, though Anna couldn’t make out anything in the darkness outside. 

Flames crackled merrily in a stone fireplace at one end of the room, in front of which sat a large sofa and several yellow and black patterned armchairs. Other squashy-looking chairs and round cushions were scattered about the room, many of them taken up by students. Two round doors, like the one they’d entered through, sat closed on opposite ends of the room. 

As Anna looked around, a warmth tickled at her toes, crawled up her limbs, settled in her bones, and vibrated on the ends of her fingers and the tips of her ears. She knew that it was magic—the whole castle was filled with it. But in this room full of plants and soft chairs, the magic rang with a life of its own. A soft breath left Anna’s lips as her body relaxed of its own accord and the magic flowed around her. 

“Welcome to the Hufflepuff common room,” Christian said with a smile. Several of the older students around the room echoed his welcome. “Boys dormitories are off to the left, and girls dormitories to the right,” Christian pointed to the round doors on either side of the room. “All your things have been brought into your rooms already. Remember that classes begin Monday, which, lucky for you lot, means that you get the weekend to explore. If you need anything, you can ask any Prefect.” He tapped a shiny badge with a letter P that was pinned to the front of his robes. “Or look for our head of house, Professor Sprout, who you’ll likely find in the greenhouses.” 

“Chris!” A student across the room called his name and Christian waved at her over his shoulder. 

The Prefect clapped his hands together and chuckled at the group of stunned first-years. “Off you go!” He turned away and went to sit with the girl who’d called his name, leaving the first years to meander about the room. 

“Hey,” Cedric called for Anna’s attention. “Wanna explore the castle tomorrow?” 

“Definitely!” Now that the magic of the common room had settled deep inside her, Anna forgot that she’d ever been nervous about coming to Hogwarts. In fact, she couldn’t wait for morning. 

“See you tomorrow, then,” said Cedric. 

Anna nodded with a smile. 

Parting was awkward. She’d spent the better part of the day with Cedric and leaving for their separate dorms felt odd. Still, Anna followed the other girls through the door on the right and into a long circular corridor, lit by torches and lined with more round doors. 

Foolishly, Anna had gone off exploring the castle on her own the next day. Cedric had gone to breakfast and invited her to come along, but the thought of toast and jam wasn’t very appealing, so Anna told him she wasn’t hungry and they’d agreed to meet in the Entrance Hall in a couple hours. 

She wandered around the lower floors of the castle, poking her head into any open rooms. Students walked idly through the halls, some chatting about their summers, others already swapping notes and reading from their textbooks. Anna wasn’t aware of just how far she’d gone until she turned around at a dead-end corridor and realised she had no clue where she’d ended up. 

Anna turned back and saw that the hall was deserted. Her footsteps echoed in the quiet. She rushed back the way she came—at least she hoped it was the way she came—and was nearly knocked off her feet when she rounded a corner too quickly. 

A pair of hands gripped her shoulders and steadied her as she rubbed at her sore nose. She blinked up at the person she’d run into. He was fairly tall—though most people looked tall to an eleven-year-old—and his face was covered in a thick layer of freckles, the colour of which nearly matched his messy red hair. 

“Alright there?” the boy asked, letting go of her arms. 

Anna nodded. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were around the corner.” 

“That’s alright,” he laughed, “happens more than you’d think.” His eyes skittered over her briefly and recognition sparked on his face. “You’re a first-year?” 

Again, Anna nodded. The boy grinned and held out a hand to her.

“I saw you at the sorting ceremony yesterday, my younger brothers wouldn’t shut up about you. They're in first year as well. I’m Charlie Weasley.” 

Anna shook his outstretched hand, marvelling at how calloused it was for someone only a few years older than her. “Anna Alsaint.” 

“Speaking of my brothers—Oy! Get out here.” 

Two boys with identical faces and flaming red hair popped out of a doorway on the left of the hall. 

“Are you two already trying to blow up the castle?” Charlie shot the twins a teasing look and crossed his arms. 

“‘Course not,” one of them jumped to answer, “figured we’d scope out the best place to put the explosives first.” 

Charlie rolled his eyes. Anna watched their exchange. Her fingers rubbed at the seam of her jumper sleeve. 

The twins, who she recognised from the wand shop and the sorting ceremony, ran up and stood next to their older brother. 

“Hi! I’m Fred,” the one who’d answered Charlie spoke first. 

“I’m George,” said the other. “Saw you yesterday with Diggory.” 

“You know Cedric?” Anna asked. 

“A bit,” said Fred. “Our dads work at the same place.” 

Anna nodded, not sure what else to say. After a moment Charlie clapped his hands to break the silence. “Why don’t you three go on and see the castle. I’ve got Prefect duty, so I can’t stick around here long.” Charlie squeezed his brothers’ shoulders and started off down the hall. 

“Nice meeting you, Anna.” Charlie waved to her then turned to his brothers. “Don’t drag her into any of your messes, you two,” he warned his brothers.  

“Nice meeting you—” Anna just barely got the words out before Charlie rounded a corner and disappeared. She scrunched her hands in the sleeves of her sweater and turned back to the twins. They all shifted a bit on their feet, one of the boys looked at the ceiling with great interest. 

“How’d you do that thing with the dragon?” One of the boys finally broke the quiet. 

Anna glanced between them, not sure if it was Fred or George who had asked. She was normally good with faces but they were so remarkably alike. 

“Dunno…It just sort of happened.”

“Wicked,” the twins said at once. 

“Did you two get your wands?” Anna internally chastised herself for the silly question. Of course they’d gotten wands, it was a school requirement. 

“Yup!” 

Unbothered, Fred and George each pulled a wand from their back pocket. Anna shuffled closer to take a look. Both wands were intricately carved and absolutely beautiful. One of them was perfectly straight, with a handle that vaguely resembled the scales of an open pine cone. The other was bent near the handle, where neat ridges of wood twisted around each other and led up towards the handle, which sported a lattice pattern atop the wood. 

Anna’s fingers hovered over the length of the second wand, feeling warm sparks of energy tickle her palm. Once again she marvelled at the presence of magic in this piece of wood. It still seemed unreal to her. 

“Where’s yours?” one of the boys asked her. 

She glanced up at him—the one with the twisty wand—and startled at how close he was. She could clearly make out the cluster of freckles under his left eye. Anna wasn’t aware that she had moved so close. She shuffled back a couple steps. 

“Erm, I left it in my room.” 

The twins gaped at her. 

“What?” she asked, unsure why they were giving her that look. 

“But what if you need it?” 

Anna blinked a few times. Truthfully, that thought hadn’t crossed her mind. “I…I don’t know any magic. Don’t think I could use it if I wanted to.” 

“Are you muggle-born, then?” One of them asked, his head tilting to the side. 

She nodded slowly, her eyes darting to her shoes. “Yeah.” 

The twins exchanged a glance. 

“Well in that case—” one of them began. 

“—We shall be your guides,” the other finished. 

They snapped their heels together and gave a mock-salute. Anna raised an eyebrow at them. Unaffected by her scepticism, they flanked her on each side and linked their arms through hers, pulling her down the hall between them. 

“So, Georgie, where to next?” The twin on her right spoke. 

“Dunno, Freddie,” said the one on her left. “Up, perhaps?” 

“Oh, wait—” Anna interjected. 

“Absolutely brilliant. Up, it is!” 

Anna swung her head back and forth with their conversation. They spoke so quickly that their words nearly overlapped and she was half-convinced that they were reading each other’s minds. 

Fred and George started pulling her along down the corridor, swinging their linked arms back and forth. 

“Wait, wait! I’m supposed to meet someone—” Anna sputtered. 

“Meeting someone?” Fred asked. 

“Who?” George followed up. 

“Cedric. We’re meant to meet in the entrance hall after breakfast.” 

“Ah, meeting Diggory.” The freckles on Fred’s nose scrunched together as he made a face. “Not getting up to much fun today, then, are you?” 

“We are actually.” Anna bristled at Fred’s slight towards her first school friend. “Does your definition of fun only involve blowing things up?” 

“She’s catching on now, Freddie.” George turned to smirk at his brother. “But we don’t just blow stuff up,” he said 

“Not at all,” Fred agreed.  

“We also nick things—”

“—and invent things—” 

“—and rearrange things!”

“Rearrange things?” Anna asked in utter bewilderment. The boys were pulling her rapidly down the hall but she did notice that some of the doorways looked a bit familiar, like she’d passed them earlier, like maybe they were taking her in the right direction. 

“Oh yeah. Rearranging things is our speciality,” Fred boasted. “Don’t tell Charlie.” 

“Do I want to know what things you’ve rearranged?” 

“Probably not,” Fred and George said together. 

Anna sighed, feeling a bit overwhelmed by them, but not protesting as they pulled her around a corner and down a wide corridor, which she found out a moment later exited into the entrance hall, where Cedric was already waiting for her. 

Later that night, or perhaps early the next morning, Anna woke to the soft glow of her dorm room. Small lanterns lined the wall of the circular room, their flames flickering slightly. She rubbed her eyes, still groggy and not used to sleeping anywhere but her bunk at the children’s home. But she had to admit, the room she’d been assigned was amazing. 

Three beds sat in the round room, their headboards pressed into the slightly recessed spaces along the rounded wall. Her bed sat to the far left of the door, the two other beds with their yellow canopies sat to her right, curtains drawn closed. Past the other beds was a small bathroom and in the centre of the room stood a low table, which was actually a sawed-off tree trunk rather than a true table, overflowing with potted plants. One of the plants was snoring quietly. The stone walls were lined with crawling vines. 

A trunk sat at the foot of each bed. And just as McGonagall had promised, Anna’s trunk was packed with school supplies. Some of the books were a bit worn down, the corners of the pages fraying and yellowed, but she was immensely grateful for them. After a long day of wandering about the castle with Cedric—they’d both nearly collapsed from the dozens of flights of stairs—she had thrown on her pyjamas and jumped into bed, though sleep hadn’t come easily. She’d tossed in her bed, unable to find a comfortable position. It felt like she’d only slept a few minutes before she was opening her eyes again to morning light that fell through the small windows lining the top of the wall. 

A bolt of homesickness shot through her chest. She was thrilled to be at Hogwarts but a part of her missed the familiarity of the children’s home. But there was nothing to be done about that now. Anna knew she wasn’t going to be able to sleep again. So instead she dressed as quietly as she could, wincing when her trunk shut with a snap, and crept out into the common room. 

The large room was empty, though flames still crackled in the fireplace. Anna sank into the thick cushions of the couch. A thick blanket lay over the back of the couch and she pulled it down over her bare feet. Her stomach rumbled. The book she’d brought out sat unopened in her lap as she watched the flames. It seemed like ages ago that she’d gotten the book at Diagon Alley. It was incredible and terrifying how quickly things could change. 

Just last month Anna had been a normal girl—a muggle girl, for all intents and purposes. And now she was a witch attending a magical school. The children’s home, though she did long for the familiarity of it, seemed so small in comparison to Hogwarts. In less than a month’s time her whole life—her whole world—had shifted. She wasn’t sure how to reckon with that quite yet. 

Anna opened the book in her lap, thumbing through the pages until she found the spot where she’d left off. The popping of the fire and the worries in her mind faded away and soon she was consumed in a chapter about centaurs. 

It was several hours later that Anna’s trance was broken by the squeaking of a door. 

Off on the left of the common room, the door to the boys dormitories cracked open and Cedric stepped out. He shut the door behind him and began tiptoeing towards the sofa. 

“Morning,” Anna said. 

Cedric startled when he spotted her half-hidden under a blanket and sunk deep into the cushions. “What’re you doing up?” he asked. 

“Couldn’t sleep. You?”

“Same.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s weird not sleeping in my own bed.” 

“Yeah. I actually sort of miss All Saints,” Anna chuckled and shut her book, folding down a corner of the page to save her spot. 

“All Saints? Like your name?” Cedric asked as he perched on the arm of the sofa. 

Anna blanched and hesitantly nodded. The cat was out of the bag now. 

“Well…” She couldn’t meet Cedric’s eye all of a sudden, instead choosing to scratch at the corner of her textbook. “All Saints is a children's home, it’s where I live in the muggle world—where I’ve lived all my life.” 

“An orphanage?” A glint of pity flashed over Cedric’s face but he quickly cast it aside. “I’m sorry.” 

Anna shook her head and gave a jerky smile. “Nothing to be sorry for. I was left there as a baby. I didn’t have a name or anything so Miss Frethey—the Directress—she named me.” 

“Hm…bit odd that she’d want you to be always reminded of the orphanage,” said Cedric. 

Anna blinked up at him. “I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way.” 

They retreated into an uncomfortable silence. Cedric’s words gave Anna something to think about. She’d always liked her name, but perhaps it was odd like he’d said. Cedric shifted on the arm of the couch. 

“D’you wanna sneak some food from the kitchens with me?” He finally broke their silence. 

Anna’s stomach grumbled loudly and her face flushed. “Definitely.”