Three - First Impressions
When the woman with the trolley came past not long after midday it reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since that morning when he was still at home. Instead of buying something off the trolley, he took out the sandwich and apple that he had shoved in his trunk that morning because he already knew that it would be more filling than sweets. Although that was not going to get him to turn down a chocolate frog when Draco offered it to him.
Crabbe and Goyle didn’t hold back when it came to buying sweets off the cart. Draco probably bought the cart's entire supply of chocolate frogs, likely to add to the stockpile of chocolate frogs he was positive Draco would have brought with him. Pansy got two packets of liquorice wands which he thought was probably the most reasonable of the lot.
Theo didn’t bother with the cart either but by the time he finished his sandwich, Theo was chewing on a piece of gum. And considering Theo hadn’t been chewing on it before, he was going to guess that Theo had swiped it from Crabbe or Goyle when one of the boys had their heads turned. Especially since neither of them had offered anything to Theo, or really spoken to him since they had entered the compartment.
As he was debating with himself whether to throw his apple core out the window or chuck it at Draco’s head there was a knock that came from their compartment’s doorframe. The door itself hadn’t been closed the entire journey. He turned and to his surprise, Oliver was standing by the doorframe. He grinned “Rivers, welcome to our little slice of heaven on Earth, however, if you want in you might have to sit on someone’s lap”
There was a grin on Oliver’s face as he looked around the cabin from one person to the next before he turned back to him, “you know what I think I’ll pass, actually, we were about to start a game of tag, I figured anyone who falls through a roof would be up for it”
That was enough to get him to jump to his feet immediately. Turning down the chance at a game of tag would be criminal. He grinned, “count me in,” as he moved towards the corridor he asked “anyone else, coming”
All the boys shook their heads instantly and for a second he thought Pansy might take him up on the offer before she too shook her head. He grinned “well in that case, I’ll be back at some point”
From the door, he lobbed the apple core at Draco’s head before quickly exiting the compartment. As he stepped into the corridor Draco shouted “I hope you fall off the train”
Snickers followed that comment, but he ignored them in favour of heading down the corridor with Oliver to the compartment he had seen him in by himself earlier. Except now it wasn’t empty. There were four other boys sitting inside, two of which had the same light brown hair colour and matching hazel eyes, so he guessed they were the brothers that Oliver had mentioned earlier. What looked to be the younger of the brothers grinned, “heard you fell through a roof”
He had the feeling that soon enough everyone in the school was going to know he fell through the ceiling of the Hogwarts Express. Not that he cared. At his primary school, there was always word of his exploits floating around whether they were true or not. It would likely be much the same at Hogwarts. He turned to Oliver and grinned, “Rivers, have you been gossiping about me”
It would have been clear to everyone in the compartment he wasn’t fazed that they had been talking about him. Oliver put his arm around his shoulders as returned his grin, “only the good things”
The younger boy with the light brown hair stood up and held out his hand, “I’m Wayne Hopkins, a fellow first year”
He shook Wayne’s hand and he stated, “Corvus Black”
Wayne gestured to the older boy with the same sandy brown hair as him, “that’s my brother, Carl,” he then gestured to the other two boys in the compartment, “and those are his friends”
He offered a wave to the three older boys who all grinned at him in return as they got to their feet. Carl looked between them all, “alright then, we’re playing the entire length of the train and you can go anywhere but the girls’ bathrooms, I also recommend avoiding any prefects but that is entirely up to you, no tag backs, I’ll start in”
With that, they were all off and running up the train. It was clear if you were in the corridor, you didn’t have much chance of avoiding being tagged as there were only two ways to run. Up or down. So, the way to avoid being tagged was going to be hiding out in various compartments.
As it turned out a large proportion of the students were okay with letting him hide out in their compartment for a few seconds or minutes to avoid being tagged or running into a prefect.
When he threw open the door to a compartment and slammed it closed behind him interrupting a Ravenclaw couple who had been kissing he thought he might get hexed. Instead, they had listened to him breathlessly explain he was playing tag, and the couple who he assumed were likely seventh years let him take refuge in their compartment and had even asked him more questions about himself.
Similarly, when he ran straight into a Slytherin prefect he thought he was done for. Instead, the Slytherin prefect, Jepson Sallow, had hidden him away in a compartment of his friends which consisted entirely of older boys who he assumed were all Slytherins. All the boys were more than happy to let him join in on their conversation.
Sallow had leaned against the compartment door talking to one of his friends to prevent anyone in the game of tag from coming inside the compartment and finding him. When Wayne, who had been in at the time, went past, he heard Sallow tell him not to run in the corridor, and then some lie about some other boy running down the corridor towards the end of the train. When he finally left that compartment Sallow and all his friends wished him luck for both the game of tag and the upcoming sorting.
Of course, not everyone was happy with his presence. Like the group of what he presumed to be fourth- or fifth-year girls, none of which were dressed in their robes, who all yelled at him to get out before he had even finished opening the door.
He ran through the corridor swerving to miss the few people who were walking through it with one of Carl’s friends hot on his heels and made the decision that when he got to the next carriage, he was going into the first compartment with an open door. He was running out of train, and it was the only way he could avoid getting caught. If he had to open a door, he wasn’t so sure he would prevent himself from taking too long and inevitably being tagged.
It was just luck that the second compartment on the left in the next carriage had its door open. Further up and there was no doubt he would have been seen entering. He stepped inside the compartment sliding the door closed behind him and in the process nearly running straight into a girl who was standing in the compartment near the door.
The girl had bushy hair and was already dressed in her robes that were in pristine condition, looking like they had never been worn before. From the lack of a house tie, or crest he guessed they hadn’t, and she was probably a first-year like him. That likely made the two dishevelled boys surrounded by candy wrappers first years too.
The girl couldn't have been more opposite to the two boys if she wanted to be. At least appearance-wise. Although he was not one to talk and next to him, they probably all looked to be perfectly groomed and nice and tidy. After all, he was still covered in about thirty different layers of dirt and dust from his earlier adventures.
Of the two boys, there was something strikingly familiar about the one with black hair, bright green eyes, and thin-framed glasses. It was like he had seen him somewhere before but couldn’t for the life of him remember where.
They were all staring at him with confused looks on their faces, and the girl without a doubt looked a little disgusted. Most likely in his appearance. Although it might have been because he had just invaded their compartment and in the process nearly crashed into her. And so, he figured he should probably apologise, “sorry I didn’t mean to nearly run into you”
The girl sent him an entirely unreadable look and he was unable to work out whether the apology changed her views on him. The boy with red hair questioned, “who are you”
It didn’t sound anything but curious. So maybe this boy didn’t care too much that he had invaded their carriage. After all, out of the three, this boy was the only one who he had seen smile at him. He held out his hand and smiled, "the name's Black, Corvus Black”
The reference went right over their heads. Or at least that was the way it seemed. None of the three moved to shake his hand. The features on the redhead, who he had guessed was the friendliest of the three, went dark and he quickly found himself on the receiving end of a glare. Obviously not a James Bond fan then.
The boy with glasses was staring at his hand. It was enough to get him to look down at it himself. It was pretty much completely covered in pitch-black coal dust, a memento from his morning adventures. It made the lack of handshaking make sense. The three probably just did not want to get their hands dirty too. People cared about that sort of thing. Although Oliver and Wayne had shaken it earlier, so he guessed there were outliers.
To hopefully ease the tension and get the three to shake his hand he rubbed it on his pants in an attempt to get what he could of the coal off. But with the absence of water or soap, it was a futile task. When his hand wasn’t clean but significantly better, he held it out again, “it’s just coal dust, I promise”
Still, none of them moved to shake his hand which he could understand. Not everyone wanted to be covered in coal dust. Some people preferred to stay clean and tidy. Not that he ever understood their motivation behind that. It ruled out doing a lot of the things he did. Considering none of the three appeared to be close to shaking his hand he dropped it back to his side, "I should probably wash it properly before expecting anyone to shake it, so what are your names, you are first years right"
The girl looked over towards her two companions, her expression a question he couldn’t read. The boy with glasses sat there, looking too bewildered to introduce himself. It was clearly up to the redhead to do the talking. It took a few quiet seconds before the redhead realised this himself and stated, “so are you a muggle-born, or do you”
The boy stopped himself and it was clear just what he was asking. Was he related to the Black with their traditions and history etched so deep into the magic community that it claimed to be a part of for as long as the existence of the community itself. And so, to finish what the boy was asking he stated, “come from the noble and most ancient house of Black,” the boy gave a small nod, and he smiled back, “yeah”
If he had thought the reception was a little cold before that was nothing compared to now. Not everyone liked the House of Black. They had done a lot of horrible things to a lot of people. Sev had discussed with him using a fake last name in the magic community, but he knew it would come out eventually and so why prolong it. But he could see now why Sev had suggested it.
This sort of reaction was not one he had received before. All of Draco’s friends were at most shocked at his existence. Most of them had some connection or other to a Black on their family tree. And if they didn’t their families held the same traditions and values the Black family did. Even if they were traditions and values he did not agree with. So, they at least got to know him before they decided they didn’t like him.
The redhead was clearly shocked, and his jaw hung open but despite this, he still managed to look at him with a very unwelcoming glare. The boy with glasses still looked confused, no different from before. The girl looked him up and down before she scoffed "I read all about your family"
Her and the rest of the magic community. His family name showed up in anything from textbooks to passed legislation. Some things were good, some indifferent and there was a lot of bad. He smiled “all good things I hope”
From the girl's hardened expression he was going to say she had not come across many of his family’s positive moments in her reading. The girl stated, “I don’t think the word good belongs in a conversation about the Black family,” her expression managed to darken further, “I’ll have you know no one in my family is magic”
It was clear she expected him to take an issue with that. But he didn’t see a problem with that at all. Knew there were people who would. However, that sort of pureblood supremacy never was something he cared for. So, he shrugged, “that doesn’t make you any less magic”
That clearly didn’t help his stance in the girl’s eyes because she kept her irritated look levelled at him. Before anyone in the compartment could say anything else the door behind him bashed against the side clearly being flung open. He spun around to see Oliver who from the smirk on his face was definitely in. He let out a scream as Oliver put his hand on his shoulder with a grin, “catch you later”
With that Oliver had run off and disappeared back down the corridor. He spun back to the three in the compartment, “sorry got to go, I'll see you around"
With that, he ran back off to continue his game of tag and find one of the boys to tag in so he wouldn't have to be in. As he ran through the hallway, he threw open the occasional door to hopefully find one of the boys. It was nearly as much fun being in and chasing the other boys around as it was to hide and be chased yourself. Eventually, he caught up to Carl and didn’t hesitate to tag him in before running away.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time," Instantly he skidded to a halt in the corridor. He was still covered in dirt and was yet to change into his robes.
Wayne who had been chasing him had stopped too. Probably because he too was yet to get changed. At least they still had five minutes. Wayne stated, "well I guess that's game over, lucky prat, I was just about to get you"
There was no way Wayne had been anywhere close to tagging him and made sure to tell him as much as they sprinted off back towards their compartments at the end of the train. When they reached Wayne’s carriage, Wayne bid his goodbye as he headed into his carriage which looked to be in a frenzy of activity. It probably was considering no one involved in the game of tag had been dressed in their robes.
He threw open the door to his compartment to find everyone inside already dressed in their robes. They were all the picture of perfection. Sitting in the seat he had before his game of tag was a girl he had never seen before who was smiling as she talked to Pansy. He gestured to the seat she was sitting in, “are you enjoying my seat”
The girl looked up at him with a smirk on her face, “this was never your seat, you were just keeping it warm for my arrival,” the girl held her hand out to him, “Daphne Greengrass”
Instantly he stepped forward to shake her hand, “Corvus Black”
Daphne did not seem to mind his dirt-clad hand in the slightest and once they finished shaking hands she gestured to him, “trains slowing down, times running out”
The rest of the compartment snickered. He pulled his trunk out from the pile of them whilst he let out a laugh, “I’ve got plenty of time you watch me”
The second he had his trunk on solid ground he flung it open to retrieve the clothes he needed to get changed into. Throwing them onto the floor behind him when he came across them. Draco questioned “did you ever think of leaving them on the top, or in the very least putting them all into the same spot”
That was something Draco did not him. It wasn’t exactly the hardest thing in the world to dig through and pull out his clothes. He shook his head, “what would be the point of that”
Draco rolled his eyes as he snickered. He dropped his jacket to the ground and pulled off his shirt and wiped his face with the inside of it before he pulled on his shirt and started buttoning it up ignoring the parts of the white that the coal from his hands was turning grey. Then he kicked off his dirt-covered shoes and grinned "okay I'm giving a strip tease whoever doesn't want to watch look out the window"
Daphne and Pansy both rolled their eyes at him but did turn to the window. With that he pulled his pants off to change, ignored Theo and Draco's consistent throwing of coins at him, and pulled on his pants before taking a bow "thank you, that is all, I'll be keeping your money"
Both Theo and Draco groaned as they grinned at each other. He pulled on his belt and did it up before bending down to pick up all the coins that had been thrown at him and pocketing them. Daphne gestured out the window "I can see the lights from Hogsmeade"
He shoved his dirty clothes into his trunk and closed it, sliding it out of the way. Turning to pull his shoes back on grateful, he hadn't bothered to untie the laces like Sev insisted that he should do when taking his shoes off. Because if he did, he was never getting them tied up before they came to a stop. They pulled into the station just as he got his second shoe on and Draco smirked "look at that, you did it, sort of"
Both his tie and robe were still laying on the ground, but he was ready enough. As he pushed himself to his feet, he stuck his tongue out at Draco. Pansy added "and only a little more dishevelled than usual"
They all laughed, and he just grabbed his robe and tie from the floor. He draped the tie around his neck not bothering to tie it and pulled the robe on, as Theo stated "at least he makes the rest of us look good"
He spun around to face the group as he stepped backwards out of the compartment, "you don't need me for that Nott, you're going to look good regardless, Pansy on the other hand"
That earnt him a wink from Theo and a slap on the side of his head from Pansy who looked down at her hand in disgust. He was still covered in sweat from the game of tag, not to mention he had who knows how much dirt in it from falling through the ceiling. He laughed running off as she tried to wipe it on him, "I think I just contracted some kind of disease"
That got him to laugh harder as he squeezed through the crowds of people so that he could get to the closest door, off the train, and away from Pansy to prevent her from enacting revenge. Although he got off the train and leaned against the side of it to wait for the group anyway.
Draco stepped off first and just rolled his eyes at him, followed by Pansy stepping off and wiping her hand on his robes. Pansy glared at him the entire time which did nothing to stop his laughter. He started walking as he stated "you shouldn't have hit me, it's not like you can't see I'm covered in dirt”
They all knew he was right. They also knew Pansy would blame it on him anyway. As they walked through the crowd of people he spotted a giant, who was without a doubt Hagrid, waving people towards him, "firs' years, firs' years over here"
Ignoring Hagrid, he just started walking in the other direction wondering just how far he could get before someone spun him around and made him go towards Hagrid. The answer was two steps because Draco grabbed his arm, "Merlin Corv, remind me why I’m your friend"
The joking tone in Draco’s voice was clear and even if it wasn’t, they had been friends long enough that he could tell when Draco didn’t mean something. He grinned “because you know if I wasn’t, you wouldn’t have half as much fun”
As they reached Hagrid he turned and began to lead them all down a path through the trees. The path was unstable, and rocks kept going tumbling down it, proving just how steep it truly was. The weeds that kept brushing against his leg told him that it probably hadn't been used since this time last year. Draco who had let go of his arm when they began along the path mumbled "they could have put lights in"
Sure, they probably should have considered putting in a light or two. He imagined only the first years walked along here and he doubted many of them knew Lumos, but that would be boring. He stated, "what would be the fun in that, they wouldn't get to watch anyone crash around in the dark"
As if on cue Theo tripped and he ended up doing his best to catch him before he could end up on the ground. However, it ended up with him on the ground instead as Draco laughed "you're right it's better this way"
He joined in on best friends laughing as the rest of their little group just left them both behind. Typical. But he eventually got back up not thanks to Draco who didn't even offer a hand and instead just kept laughing at him. He brushed himself off as he continued down the path.
As they passed the next bend the pathway opened, and everyone was standing there all staring at Hogwarts. Unlike everyone else, however, his eyes didn't stay for long on the castle. Instead, he looked down at the lake, and the boats all moored along the rocky beach. It didn't take a genius to work out that's how they planned to arrive at Hogwarts. Also didn't take a genius to work out it was about a fifty, fifty chance on whether he ended up in the lake or not. At least if he did, he wouldn't be covered in dirt anymore.
Instead of waiting around for everyone else to get over their awe and following them over to the boats, he was the first to walk to the water’s edge. He bent down to wash his hands and face as Hagrid stated "everyone in, no more'n four to a boat"
As everyone around him surged forward to get into the boats he stayed rubbing his face with the cool water knowing in the long run he might just end up looking worse. Draco stated "come on, before we leave you behind"
Standing back up he followed Draco to the closest empty boat getting his shoes completely drenched as he did. He climbed into the boat and settled down on the seat beside Draco "do you think they'll let us swim"
Draco shrugged, "if they don’t, I'm sure you'll add it to the list of rules you plan to break, although there are no doubt a million things in there that could kill you"
There probably was. It was probably one of the reasons Sev had never so much as mentioned the lake. He hadn’t been expecting a lake, but he was going to make good use of it. He smiled at Draco as he stated "it's more fun when the stakes are higher"
From the look he got in return it was clear Draco did not agree with him. Not that he needed the confirmation, he already knew as much. Theo and Daphne climbed into the boat, and they all grinned at each other.
The boats started moving and he perched himself on his knees and leaned over the side of the boat to let his hand drag through the water. He watched as his hand cut through the glassy water and rushed around his fingers. Draco stated "I have half a mind to push you in, but I'd rather watch you fall in of your own account"
Both Theo and Daphne were more than happy to egg Draco on. Spinning to face Draco he poked his tongue out at him and flicked the water from his fingers at him. Draco groaned and looked close to pushing him in as he stated "Corvus, really"
He ignored Draco in favour of leaning further over the side of the boat ash laughed "this is your own fault, Dray; you know what I'm like and yet still got in the same boat as me"
Draco kicked his leg and stated "you're right, and it's going to be your own fault when I push you out"
He just laughed harder as he submerged more of his hand into the water. It was definitely going to be his own fault if he ended up in the water.
The boat jolted to a stop resulting in him hitting his chin on the boat. He sat up groaning and rubbing his chin as Draco stood up, "serves you right Corv"
Rolling his eyes, he jumped up and followed Draco off the boat and down onto the rocks below them. It took about two seconds for them to reunite with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. Pansy stated "I was hoping you'd fall out of the boat"
"So was Draco, I guess it's too bad I have mad ninja skills," everyone in the group rolled their eyes at him as they moved to follow Hagrid.
The second they got off the rocks and onto the flat passageway his soaking wet shoes began squelching and echoing in the mostly otherwise silent walkway. Theo was doing his best not to laugh whilst exchanging amused glances with Daphne. He didn't bother trying however and was more than happy to laugh every time he took a step, and his wet shoes made it known to everyone around them.
When they reached the stairs, Theo was quietly laughing, and Daphne was avoiding eye contact with everyone. Pansy and Draco were both looking around with amused smiles on their faces. Wayne and Oliver kept looking back at him from the front of the pack, grins on both of their faces. Nobody else was making any noise but that didn't deter him from continuing his laughing as he stated "do you think we could borrow one of the boats, I bet I can work out how to work it and if I don’t, we could just use oars"
Draco stated "I don't think you have to worry about that, you'll be expelled long before you get any free time to do that"
There was a risk of that sure but he hadn't been expelled from his primary school so he should be able to avoid getting expelled "then you'll just have to do it for me, I don't think it will be too hard, so you should be able to manage sometime before you graduate"
Draco glared at him and stated "I'm beginning to wish you were born a week later"
He for one was glad that wasn't the case. If he was born a week later, he wouldn't be starting until next year which would mean he wouldn't be in the same grade as Draco. He stated "you know you're glad I'm here, without me it would be such a bore"
They all came to a stop and Draco rolled his eyes but didn't disagree, so he was undeniably smug that Draco wasn't arguing. Hagrid knocked on the castle door. He turned to Theo and stated "would it have not been easier for them to leave it open, like sure some cold would have gotten in, but the professors are supposed to be the best witches and wizards in the country so I'm sure they could have dealt with it, and if they couldn’t, just throw on more layers"
Daphne who had been breathing deeply and avoiding eye contact finally broke and started laughing from her place beside Theo. Theo who had already been laughing continued as he stated "you're the worst Corvus, you know that"
His point had been perfectly justified but he found himself laughing anyway as he spun around to Pansy and smiled "what do you think Pansy, it's a good idea right"
Pansy just pointed behind him and he spun around to see the door was now open and a witch dressed in green robes was standing there with a stern look on her face. Hagrid gestured to her and stated "the firs' years, Professor McGonagall"
Professor McGonagall opened the door wider and immediately he spotted the fact that she was wearing green despite the fact she was head of Gryffindor. She led them down the hall, the squelching sound from his shoes continued, and he ran his hand along the wall as he grinned "how many of these stones do you think I'd have to push before a passageway opened up"
Professor McGonagall began ushering them into a room as Pansy stated "with your luck, it'd be the last one you pushed"
Voices could be heard coming from nearby, likely where the rest of the school was. He just grinned at Pansy as he stated "if that's what it took, I'd do it"
There was a chorus of "we know" that came in response from Draco, Theo, and Pansy.
It just made him laugh harder as the rest of the first years made their way into the room and Professor McGonagall stated "welcome to Hogwarts"
McGonagall continued a speech about the houses and the sorting ceremony that he tuned out just as quickly as it began. He nudged Draco's shoulder as he pulled out the chocolate frog that he hadn't eaten earlier and stated "do you think anyone would notice if I disappeared to go and look for a secret passageway"
Draco gave him a look that probably was supposed to mean 'shut up' or 'be quiet". And so, he respected Draco as he just opened the chocolate frog to eat it. McGonagall got his attention again when she stated "any rule-breaking will lose house points"
Okay, so he was going to lose a lot of house points. At least losing house points would be a much easier punishment than detention. Although he imagined he'd still be finding out what detention was like very shortly. Draco whispered "I feel bad for you future housemates"
Whatever, his future house wasn't going to be in the running for winning the House Cup, at least they would be having fun. Or at least he would be having fun. He shrugged "come on, I’m loveable, sure we might get the lowest number of points but we’ll have the most fun”
He left it there because Professor McGonagall looked directly at him and stated "I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting"
That was harsh. There was no need to call him out like that. He was already aware that he was dishevelled and probably looked like a complete and utter mess. Not to mention his tie was still undone. He poked Draco so he was looking at him again and gestured to McGonagall, "she definitely looked directly at me, that was a personal attack, and I will not stand for it"
Draco rolled his eyes at him as McGonagall continued "I shall return when we are ready for you " again she looked directly at him, "please wait quietly"
That was obviously a personal attack aimed at him. The second McGonagall disappeared Draco smirked "that was definitely aimed at you"
"I feel like that was out of line, just because I'm a little more talkative than anyone else does not mean she needs to call me out specifically, other people talk too," Draco just shook his head at him but started doing up his tie for him.
There wasn't anything Draco could do to improve the rest of him. Even without the coal dust, his clothes were a mess. Partly from putting them on last minute and partly from throwing them in his bag allowing them to become creased. But at least his tie wasn't going to be as much of a mess when Draco was done.