Star Child

It was finally time for Seren to go to Hogwarts. After his mother had spoken to one of the goblin privately to setup his new bank vault, his parents had been even more antagonistic towards one another. He’d quickly gotten his school books as well as some quills and parchment that he apparently needed for his school assignments, it was strange that they didn’t use regular paper and pens. He’d also been shocked when he was told that electronics didn’t work at Hogwarts due to their magic. He was relieved when his father had told him that his cellphone would still work at his new school, but his father had quickly taken his phone so he could adjust it to be able to charge using magic. Professor Flitwick had given his mother a picture of the school robes and uniform as she insisted on having his clothes made by his personal tailor. He also hadn't needed to get a wand to do magic so they hadn’t gone to Ollivander’s to get him one, although it had taken them a while to convince the half-goblin professor Flitwick.
Seren was looking forward to seeing what the school had to offer, not including history. He didn’t need to learn about their little society, he was only there to learn about their branch of magic. Although, being in the human realm also allowed him the opportunity to study the creatures connected to death within the human realm. His father had told him that he was forbidden from learning more than the basics of Necromancy and that he was to wait until the summer to begin his training in that form of magic. His family and his bodyguards left hell to go to the wizarding world’s train station in human form, except for Collin who decided to remain invisible.

“Protect Seren with your life, is that understood?” Stella said to Vortex and Collin with narrowed eyes, “He’s to be treated befitting his status.”

Vortex and Collin nodded before glancing at Seren bidding his father and sister goodbye.

“Make sure to text every morning and night. I want to hear all about your time at this school. If you don’t like it, just call me. I’ll pick you up in a heartbeat.” Stolas said as he fussed over his son.

“Okay, father. I will. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too!” Stolas exclaimed, holding back his tears.

“Send me pictures of any cool creatures you see. I want to see if I can find taxidermy of the creatures you see. Also, ask if their society sells any weird taxidermy for me.” Octavia told her brother before pulling him into a hug, “Have fun and make friends. Although, only tell mom about the ones of higher social standing.”

Seren smiled softly, “I’m going to miss you, Via.”

Octavia hugged him tighter, “I’ll miss you too, Ren. If you get lonely, set up a video chat.”

Octavia let her brother go and Seren turned to his mother, “I will miss you, mother.”

Stella’s features softened as she turned to her son, “I’ll miss you too, my beloved starlight.”

Seren waved goodbye to his family as he and his bodyguards entered the train with their luggage as well as his familiar. They quickly found a compartment near the back of the train and waited for the other students to board so they could go to Hogwarts. As soon as he sat down, he took off his crown since he wanted to see how others acted around him before he introduced himself as royalty. He quickly pulled out his grimoire and began reading, he was excited to begin his studies. He ignored the sounds of parents wishing their children farewell and waited for the train to begin moving. After a while, the other students boarded the train and the train began to move. A gangly, freckled red-headed boy opened the compartment he was in and glanced inside. He noticed only Seren and Vortex inside, not seeing Collin as he was still invisible.

“Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full.” The boy asked as he pointed at the seat across from Seren and Vortex.

Seren shook his head, “No, go ahead.”

The boy sat down and glanced at Vortex curiously, “Um, I—”

“Hey, Ron.” A voice interrupted.

They all turned to see a pair of identical red-headed twins smiling before gaping at Vortex.

“Merlin’s beard, you’re huge! You can’t be a student here, are you the new defense teacher or something?”

Vortex raised an eyebrow, but didn’t answer the twins.

One of the twins smiled mischievously, “Where are our manners? We’re Fred and George Weasley, the handsome older brothers of Ron.”

“What manners?” Ron asked in disbelief.

“Listen, we’re going down the middle of the train. Lee Jordan’s got a giant tarantula down there.” The other twin said, ignoring Ron’s comment.

“Right…” The boy, Ron, mumbled.

“Anyways, we have to go. See you later then.” The twins said in synchronization before leaving, sliding the door shut behind them.

“Are you really going to be our teacher?” Ron blurted out.

Vortex shook his head, “No. I’m Prince Seren’s bodyguard.”

“Prince?” Ron asked flabbergasted as he stared at Seren.

Seren nodded, placing a bookmark in his grimoire so he wouldn’t lose his place, “Yes. I am Prince Seren of the Ars Goetia, but you can just call me Seren.”

Ron stared as he opened and closed his mouth, trying to find something to say before he shook his head, “Sorry for staring. I’ve never met a Prince before.”

“It’s okay. So, are all your family wizards?”

“Er… yes, I think so. I think mom’s got a second-cousin who’s an accountant, but we never talk about him.”

“Why not?” Seren asked curiously.

Ron opened his mouth before pausing, “I-I’m not sure. I never asked.”

There was an awkward silence before Seren cleared his throat, “How many siblings do you have?”

“Five older brothers and one little sister. I’m the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts, you could say I’ve got a lot to live up to…” Ron told him, appearing to get more and more upset the more he spoke, “Bill and Charlie have already left, Bill was head boy and Charlie was the captain of his quidditch team. Now Percy’s a perfect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they’re really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do… it’s no big deal because they did it first. You never get anything new either with five brothers. I’ve got Bill’s old robes, Charlie’s old wand, and Percy’s old rat.”

Seren sympathized with Ron, it was difficult to live up to the expectations of family. He watched as Ron quickly pulled out a sleeping fat grey rat from inside his jacket to show him.

“His name’s Scabbers and he’s useless. He hardly ever wakes up… Percy got an owl from my dad for being made perfect, but they couldn’t aff— I mean, I got Scabbers instead…” Ron trailed off, his ears pink from embarrassment.

“It’s okay. I understand how hard it is to have to live up to family expectations. Most people probably think being a prince is easy and I can just do whatever I want, but I can’t. My every move, who I can talk to, what I wear… everything is dictated by my mother. I’m nothing more than my father’s spare heir… but by going to this school… I have a chance to mostly be myself. I know I’ll have to make at least a few friends with some of the children of nobility here, but other than that I can make my own decision on who I befriend. I’m sure that you’ll find something that only you’ve accomplished while at Hogwarts and maybe… we can try being friends?”

Ron stared at Seren intensely as he spoke before giving him a small smile, “Thanks. I’d like that.”

They chatted to one another for a while before a woman slid open the door of their compartment with a smile.

“Anything off the cart, dears?” She asked.

Ron’s ear went pink once more as he mumbled that he’d brought sandwiches for the ride to Hogwarts. Seren was about to get up to see what kind of food was on the cart, but was quickly stopped by Vortex.

“No thanks. We already have food.” Vortex told the woman and watched as the woman slid their door closed once more.

“I was just going to look.” Seren muttered.

“You know you are not allowed to eat anything not tested by me, it could be poisoned. Your mother had the servant prepare food in case you got hungry.” Vortex said before standing up.

“Woah…” Ron said with wide eyes as he saw just how tall Vortex was.

Vortex went to the corner of the compartment that their luggage was and picked up a medium-sized bag. He handed the bag to Seren before sitting back down as Seren opened the bag and pulled out a delicious-looking pork sandwich. Ron took out a lumpy package and unwrapped it to reveal four sandwiches inside. He pulled one apart and seemed to wilt as he saw what was inside it.

“She always forgets I don’t like corned beef…”

“Corned beef? I’ve never heard of that kind of sandwich before… You can have one of mine if you trade me one of yours. Vortex, you can taste-test it before I try it.”

Vortex nodded while Ron shook his head.

“You don’t want this, it’s all dry. She hasn’t got much time, you know… with five of us.” Ron argued.

“Here, I don’t mind.” Seren said as he pulled out another pork sandwich for his new friend.

In the end, Ron agreed and took the sandwich. His eyes widened as he took a tentative bite of his new sandwich before quickly devouring it.

“This is the best sandwich I’ve ever tasted! What kind of meat is this?”

“It’s pork. The meat in our… country is quite different from most other places.”

Ron’s eyes strayed to the bag in Seren’s hand, wondering if his new friend would mind giving him another one of his sandwiches. Seren giggled before pulling out another sandwich and handed it to Ron. Ron happily ate it and they quickly ate the rest of the sandwiches, completely forgetting the corned beef sandwiches as they continued getting to know one another. Eventually, there was a knock on their compartment door before a teary round-faced boy entered.

“Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?”

They all shook their heads no and the boy became even more upset.

“I’ve lost him! He keeps getting away from me!” He wailed.

Seren felt bad for the boy, “It’s okay. I can summon him for you, if you want. What’s his name?”

“You will? Thank you so much!” The boy exclaimed, “His name is Trevor.”

Seren nodded and began to open up a small portal, his hand glowing an icy blue as he used his magic. A toad hopped through with a croak and the boy leapt towards his pet, ecstatic.

“Trevor!” He yelled happily as he scooped up his toad, “Thank you!”

Seren smiled, “It was no problem. Do you want to sit with us? What’s your name?”

The boy hesitated before giving a shy nod and sliding the compartment door closed, “I-I’d like that. I-I don’t have any f-friends and I’ve been sitting with another girl named Hermione. I’m Neville Longbottom.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Prince Seren Goetia and sitting next to me is my bodyguard Vortex. The boy sitting across from me is Ron Weasley. Do you want me to bring your luggage here?”

Neville nodded nervously, trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was in the same compartment as a prince.

After a few moments, he straightened his posture before speaking once more, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your highness. I hadn’t realized I was among royalty. Allow me to reintroduce myself, I am Neville Longbottom, heir to the most noble house of Longbottom. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be willing to summon my luggage here.”

Seren nodded, “Pleased to make your acquaintance, heir Longbottom. Please, call me Seren. I would like for us to try and be friends.”

Neville relaxed and Seren quickly created another portal, a luggage set quickly appearing in their compartment. Neville sat next to Ron and they all began getting to know one another. Seren was happy, he had already made two friends and he hadn’t even gotten to Hogwarts yet. Suddenly, their compartment door was opened once more and a bushy-haired girl dressed in Hogwarts robes entered.

“Has anyone seen— Neville! You found your toad!” She said, her voice changing from bossy to ecstatic within moments.