Floating Fucking Candles
I only ever said yes to going to Hogwarts, that stupid “wizard” prep school my dad apparently went to to get away from home, if I can even call it that. The headmaster, the one who dresses like its Halloween, I don't remember his name Dumbelrowr or something was babying me like I was an idiot when he was talking to me but I agreed anyways because having a cheap mattress and sharing a room with 30 other kids is not my ideal “home”. I thought getting out was going to be great but now I'm sitting on a train with these two posh boys who won't shut up, I mean their voices are dripping with money. Oh and I almost forgot, I had to walk through a wall to board this train. A WALL!! Like, what the bloody fuck is that. I feel like I am living in a fever dream, or at least have transferred to another dimension. Plus I literally hate school and I just agreed to live at one. What a fucking idiot I am. Who knows maybe they will have a good library? I'm sure there will be somewhat of a better selection than what's at the shelter, especially with all the money they have. I still don't know why I'm here. Like this is a boarding school for posh boys, how am I affording it and even if it's a scholarship how do they know about me, and why me? I tried to ask Dumbleguy about it but he gave me some legacy crap about how my father was a great man and how he's sure I will be too. Oh and you know those boys on the train with me? They are whispering like the idiots they are, thinking I can hear them, and won't stop looking at me. Like you guys, fuck off please??!?
“Who is that?” One of the idiots' questions.
“I don't know,” The idiot with hair that is literally coming up in fluffy spikes, like antlers, answers. “What family do you think he comes from?”
What the hell do they mean, what family??
“I don't know,” The first Idiot now, “Why does his face look like that?”
“Don't be rude Sirius!” The crazy haired one hisses back, “But I don't know, why don't you ask him?”
“I'm not going to ASK-”
Of fuck this shit.
“My name is Remus Lupin, thanks for asking.” I cut the boy named Sirius off, rolling my eyes because, what the hell?? “I don't know what the fuck you mean by what family I come from, I don't even have a family, and my face is all fucked up because me and the boys back home got into a fight the other week and it has started to scar. Now can you please fuck off you fucking nerds.” I finish with an exasperated sigh. They are both looking at me with their mouths hanging open like I'M the idiot here and not them.
A knock on the door interrupts whatever the antler boy was about to say.
“James?” A rounder, shorter boy steps into the compartment.
“Peter!!” Antler boy, or well James, responds, jumping up to give the boy a hug. Childhood friends I suppose. “This is Sirius black.” James tells Peter, gesturing in Sirius’ direction.
“Black??!” Peter responds, eyes going wide.
“Mhm,” James mumbles before pointing at me and saying “And this is Remus Lupin, he swears like a sailor, as my mum would say.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Peter responds with a quick nod of acknowledgment to the both of them.
After that I kind of get lost in my head for a bit, thinking about the shelter, and how different Hogwarts could be. I do know I will still have roommates though, just hopefully not any of these guys, well Peter seems nice enough I guess, not as obnoxious.
My thoughts get interrupted by a loud whisper as Sirius says, “I didn't mean to be rude, you know earlier, when I said something about your face. I was just curious, I like your freckles though.” He says in a bit of a rush, flushing a bit as he spurts it out.
I just reply with an alright because I really don't have the energy to deal with any of their crap right now. That's the last time one of them tries to talk to me until we arrive at school a few hours later. The trolley lady does stop by once with some sweets. The other boys indulge in something called a chocolate frog? I didn't get anything because the fact that it seemed to move freaked me out, it must be some sort of advanced, rich people motor thing. Plus I have some normal chocolate in my bag for when the craving hits.
When we arrive at Hogwarts, Merlin it still sounds so posh, we get ushered through the dark to what looks like a big black lake. Looking up from the lake is definitely the most beautiful building I have ever seen. It's a large castle that is practically glowing in the dark of the night. And I'm going to be living here?? My thoughts, starting to run wildly, are interrupted by a very large man who had explained earlier that he had been the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, apparently kicked out of the school himself when he was 13, for about 19 years. He gestures to a large number of boats, all looking slightly bigger than a canoe, and tells us to hop in, no more than 4 people per boat. The boy Peter, from the train, pales a bit but his friend, James, assures him that it will be fine and helps him into one of the boats. The other boy, Sirius, waves me over with a tad bit too much excitement for a ride across a lake, and tells me that I can ride with them. I hesitate a bit, glancing around for somewhere else to ride, but seeing as everyone seems to have their friends already, I get in with the boys from the train. When the boats start to tread across the lake it throws me for a loop because no one is paddling the boats along, they are just moving. Great another weird posh thing to add to the list, I mean it's barely the 70s, how do they have the money for all this new technology that I haven't even heard of. I mean, the moving chocolate, the self moving canoes, the walls you can walk though, not to mention the weird robes we have to wear, that better not become the next new thing in fashion. What's next, floating candles??
After traveling across the lake they end up in a tunnel where the exit the canoe boats onto some pebbly ground. We follow the large groundskeeper through a series of steps and dark passages they have to duck under until they reach a large grass opening. Standing in the opening, under the shadow of the castle-like school I will be attending for the next 7 years I can't help but wonder how much I have been missing. Is the whole world like this? Is that why everyone else doesn't seem so stunned by everything we have experienced in our journey getting here. Has the home sheltered that much of the world from us? How much of everything I know is a lie? This whole thing feels like it's straight out of a fiction novel. One thing providing me with comfort is this one girl who has, what I'm assuming is the same look as I do right now, plastered on her face. Like she has never imagined such money could exist in her wildest dreams. Maybe she came from a girl's home like I did a boys, invited to attend because her father or mother had gone to Hogwarts like my dad did. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised, her red curls are as wild as ever, similar to the state of my auburn ones. It's much different than everyone else with their tame, brushed back looks, the exception being antler boy of course. Just then an elder lady steps out of the double doors that I hadn't even realized were there, a serious look on her face. She quickly introduces herself as Professor McGonagall and then fusses to Hagrid, the groundskeeper, something about us being late for the ceremony. We follow her through the large hallway, stone and decorated lavishly, its grander than anything I have ever seen. She stops outside of a large set of doors where you can hear the excited murmurs of what, presumably, are the other students. McGonagall says to wait out here before we get called in for the sorting. Most of the kids seem excited by this but the Professor must have seen the look of confusion on my face because she smiles lightly and then goes on to explain that Hogwarts has four houses you can be sorted into. These houses will be our houses for the rest of our 7years here and they will be the group of people we live with, have classes with, sit with at meals and if we chose to play quidditch, will be on a team with. They are determined by personality traits such as courage, loyalty, cleverness and ambition and the houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. She also said something about house points but I didn't understand that bit, so I focused on all the other information in my brain and tried to figure out which house I could end up in. I still don't know how they are going to figure out which house we will be in. Are we going to take a personality test that determines it?
When the doors to what they call the great hall are opened I immediately understand why its title consists of the word great. This is the most stunning room I have ever seen. Stone walls adorned with flags, and gold detailing, a large open skylight displaying the very clear and starry night, four long tables stretch across the room longwise, each filled with children of their respected houses who are turned and facing a long head tables near the front of the room where I recognize the Headmaster, still dressed in his costume like robes. He is surrounded by a bunch of other adults who I assume are going to be our professors throughout our years in school. Oh, and I almost forgot, there are floating fucking candles lighting up the large room scattered across the hall high up in the air. As the first name gets called and a shy looking kid walks up to the front of the room everyone falls silent and directs their complete attention forward. The kid sits on a stool that is displayed in front of where the Headmaster is stationed and Professor McGonagall walks forward and places a deteriorating witches hat, that certainly is carrying lice, on the students head. To my complete and utter shock the hat starts talking and after a minute announces Hufflepuff loudly to the crowd. The third table from left erupts into cheers and as everyone else claps politely the shy child blushes and shuffles over to sit at the Hufflepuff table, receiving various high-fives and pats on the back along the way. As the list starts to go on, alphabetically, Sirius Black eventually gets called up. The Slytherins are looking excitedly at one another and a few people resembling Sirius in a way give him a thumbs up as he sits on the stool with a grimace in his expression. This time the hat takes a long while deciding which house to put the boy in and as the amount of time it takes grows, the more the tension in the room seems to grow. Eventually, the hat shouts out Gryffindor and the curious whispers that had been spreading across the hall abruptly stop. Everyone looks completely stunned by this but as the seconds since the house was announced start to stretch the Gryffindor table starts to cheer just as they had for everyone else. Sirius, looking mortified as ever but also looking a bit relieved, starts walking to his spot at the table. The room calms down as the next names start to get called and I take note of the fact that the shocked red redhead from before, Lily Evans, gets sorted into Gryffindor as well. When my name gets called I walk up, shoulders hunched over a bit, embarrassed by all the attention. The hat gets placed on my head and starts murmuring to itself about how I have smarts so I could do well in Ravenclaw and about how I could flourish in Slytherin due to my cunningness and ambitious behaviors. When I wonder how it knows this about me the hat reads my mind and responds saying that it's his job which only confuses me more. Eventually the hat's thought process seems to change over to sorting me into Gryffindor. Noticing that it's taking me a bit longer to be sorted than it did everyone else I start to blush and the hat shushes my thoughts claiming that it's trying to think. Eventually it decides I will do best in Gryffindor and to my distaste I have to be in a house with poshboy Sirius from the train. At least that's where Lily is, maybe we can bond over our lack of knowledge of this new world. When I sit at the table Lily does introduce herself and I learn that she has a very strong handshake and a very lovely voice. I spare Sirius a glance and he is holding his head in his hands and muttering nonsense to himself sounding quite distressed. When the nicer boy from the train, Peter, gets called up the hat starts to announce Slytherin as his house when he makes a put out noise that slightly resembles a no so the hat retreats and sorts him into Gryffindor despite its efforts. When James Potter gets called he struts up there and the hat doesn't even sit on his head before it's announcing Gryffindor loudly and more cheers start to erupt from the table. As the rest of the sorting finishes up I remember a few faces and where they were sorted. Mary Macdonald, Marlene McKinnon, and the Prewett twins Fabian and Gideon are all sorted into Gryffindor, Dorcas Meadows and Severus Snape are sorted into Slytherin but that's all I know from our year. I get introduced to Frank who's in Gryffindor and his best friend Alice who seems to get along well with Lily despite being a grade above.
When dinner is served everyone goes quiet as they dig into the feat that appeared in front of him, only chattering excitedly over the topic of the fast approaching school year and quidditch season. At one point Lily leans over to him and tells him that she is a muggle born too and understands why he's so overwhelmed claiming that magic can be a lot when you aren't exposed to it as a child. Stunned at the mention of magic I just nod in her direction and wait for the meal to be over where we get led by a perfect to our dorms. There, I find all my stuff already sitting in front of my bed. Unfortunately I do have to share a room with those bozos from the train but I add that to the file of things to think about later as I draw the curtains and lay in a comfortable bed for the first time in forever, thoughts spinning about magic? Because apparently that shit is real now, or it always was but I didn't know about it until now. Damn it this school year is going to be worse than I thought, I have no idea what's going on but at least the chocolate frog and the strange outfits, talking hats and floating fucking candles make sense now.