Exposure To Magic (Or Where Everything Begins)
He fiddled with a little black and silver marble in his hand as he walked through a strange alley with stores. He had recently got a letter from a school called Hogwarts inviting him to attend their classes. Unsure at first, his mother and father were surprised that he got a letter to attend the school. His sister, on the other hand, was happy and showed him complete support. After receiving the letter, a giant arrived at their house to pick up the young man. The giant said to call him "Hagrid" and that he was a wizard, just like his folks. In a flash, Hagrid took the young man to an alleyway filled with stores. They had just finished getting the much needed items: ink wells, quill pens, parchment paper, and a few spell books. The only thing he needed was a wand. He looked around until he found Olivander's Wand Shop. He stepped inside and couldn't believe his eyes. Multiple shelves well stocked with boxes upon boxes of wands. The young man went up to the front desk, rang the small bronze bell, and waited.
"Just a moment, please," called out a voice before a crash was heard. Popping out of the back, an older man straightened himself up to appear presentable. His hair was as white as a bride's dress on her big day and the Mad Hatter's stare. "Ah, young Virgil. Coming here for a wand, I presume?"
"Um, yes," said the young man, "but, I prefer to be addressed as Rogue; All my friends do."
"I understand, my boy. Let me see what I have in here." The older man, as Rogue found out to be Olivander, ducked behind the desk and pulled out a box, opening it. "This wand is of ivory, 13 inches with a unicorn hair core. Try it out." Rogue took the wand and gave it a wave. A ball of light knocked over the telephone from the desk causing Olivander to flinch. Rogue shook his head and placed the wand back in the box. Olivander stowed away the wand and picked up another one of elder wood and a Phoenix feather core.
"Here's goes something," Rogue muttered to himself. He waved the wand and a bouquet of nearby roses wilted. Olivander and Rogue agreed that the wand wasn't for him to use. Suddenly, a box fell over in the back. Olivander smiled as he ran to the box and carried it back. He flipped the lid off the box and showed Rogue the wand.
"Maybe this wand... of ebony and the core of a dragon heartstring..." He took Rogue's hand and wrapped it around the handle. A light from above lite up Rogue like he was the highest arc angel. "Maybe it isn't the wizard that chooses the wand..."
"But vice versa?" Olivander nodded and a small smile crept across Rogue's face. He thanked Olivander and walked out of the shop.
Later, Rogue and Hagrid stood at Platform 9 3/4, waiting for Rogue's train to arrive. Hagrid placed a hand on Rogue's shoulder and Rogue looked up at him.
"I can't go on the train to Hogwarts with you," Hagrid sombered, "I'm too big to fit in there. But don't worry, lad. I have a motorcycle to take me to Hogwarts. Be careful for me. I'll see you at Hogwarts." Rogue nodded as Hagrid walked away and the train pulled into the platform. Rogue handed over his ticket to the conductor and was showed to his seat. Shoving his luggage under his seat, Rogue tipped the conductor with whatever gold and silver shillings he had left. The conductor smiled, thanked Rogue, and left. Rogue sat down on the suede seating and gazed out the window as the train started up and left the station.
As the train chugged on, Rogue looked onto passing grassy fields. He remembered the old times where he and his sister ran around the field while on a picnic with their mother and father. A tap on his shoulder stopped his train of thought. He turned to see a guy who's carrying a load of candy in his arm.
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything," he stated, "but is it okay if I sit with you?" Rogue grinned, willing to make a new friend.
"Yeah, have a seat," he offered. The man sits down, placing the candy between himself and Rogue.
"Thanks. Oh, and I'm Gerard. Gerard Way. My brother is Gryffindor's quidditch team captain."
"My name's Rogue. My dad was a quidditch team captain for Gryffindor himself. He would do risky stunts and nearly break his neck. It freaked out my mom at the time."
"So your dad was the dare devil of his time?"
"Pretty much."
"Nice. Hey, do you want a chocolate frog?"
"I can't eat chocolate. I'm allergic."
"You don't eat the frog. You just let it free and collect a Famous Witches and Wizards card that's in the box." Rogue raised an eyebrow, but opened the box anyway. A frog leaped out, causing Rogue to quickly lean over and the frog hopped out the window. Gerard and Rogue just stare for a few seconds and then turn to the box. Rogue shimmied his hand in and pulls out a pentagon shaped card. Gerard widened his eyes in amazement.
"'Robert Plant'?" Rogue inquired.
"Dude, that's a limited edition," Gerard declared, "not only that but it's of Hogwarts' headmaster. He's a great guy; firm but very fair." The card glistened in the sunlight as Rogue tilted the card side to side. Suddenly, a scream rang through the train car as Gerard's brother Mikey ran around and covered in spiders.
"GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!! GET THEM OFF!!!" He shouted as he passed Rogue and Gerard. Another young man slinked in, shutting the door and closing the curtains.
"I am NOT involved in that," he claimed, sitting across from Rogue and Gerard, "Oh, and the name is Aurelio, but you can call me Voltaire."
"I'm Rogue. Nice to meet you." Rogue said politely.
"Pleasure to meet you, Rogue," Voltaire turned to Gerard, who stuck a lollipop in his mouth. "And you are?" Gerard removed the lollipop and spun it in his hand.
"My name's Gerard. Gerard Way."
"Charmed." Voltaire shifted his eyes to Rogue. "Wasn't your father head sergeant in the Wizard War?" Rogue seemed confused.
"Wizard War?" Rogue inquired, "I don't know anything about it." Gerard pushed a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to Rogue as he sucked on his lollipop.
"The Wizard War was started by this group dubbed, 'The Traitors of the Wizardry World', or 'TWW' for short. Their followers are extremely loyal and will stop at nothing to destroy any wizard who doesn't have pure blood of a wizard. The followers were captured and jailed after the 'TWW' has been defeated and exiled into paintings. Legend says that one of the traitors escaped and is looking for the ones who captured and sent them to prison." Gerard and Rogue looked at each other, then back to Voltaire. Gerard snickered.
"The last part is just a legend," he chortled, twirling the lollipop in his hand. Rogue wasn't so sure himself. If the story was true, his father would've told him. Voltaire placed a hand on Rogue's arm.
"Don't worry about it," he reassured, "if anything goes wrong, Gerard and I have your back." Rogue smiled hopefully as the train came to a complete stop. Voltaire opened the door as Gerard gathered his candy and Rogue grabbed his luggage. The three stepped off the train and gazed in awe at the castle-like structure. It resembled what a castle would look like during the Middle Ages. The wrought iron gate opened and a flock of students flooded in.
Rogue, Gerard and Voltaire went up the steps and walked inside of the Great Hall. The walls had a distinct color of either bamboo or pollen from buttercups. Along those wall lie four doors, each one with a brass plaque above them reading, "Slytherin Common Room", "Dining Hall", "Potions Class", and "Restricted".
Standing at the top of a humongous staircase was a man with curly hair and a huge robe the reached his ankles. Rogue gazed at the Witches and Wizards card and the man. The man stepped down the stairs and stopped by the fifth last step, grinning at the students.
"Fellow new students," he bellowed, "I am Professor Robert Plant, the headmaster of Hogwarts. Before we begin, the door with 'Restricted' above it is out of bounds to those who don't wish a painful death." Rogue, Voltaire, and Gerard show shock and Gerard leaned in between Rogue and Voltaire.
"What the fuck kind of school is this?" Gerard whispered. Rogue and Voltaire shrugged as all three looked up at Professor Plant.
"The sorting ceremony will begin shortly," Professor Plant said, leading students to the dining hall. The students who were here before sat at tables with a snake, a lion, a badger, and a raven at the end facing the teachers. In front of the teacher's table was an old oak stool. Laying on said stool was a hat. A hat that has patches and tears all over. A teacher strutted to the stool and smiled at the new students. Her hair was short and styled like a 1920s flapper girl. Her eyes were a chocolate shade of brown and done with a cat's eye liner. She was dressed like a movie theater usher and her lips looked as if she kissed on her enemy's bloody wound and dried up.
"Welcome new students," she chimed in a friendly tone, "I'm Professor Levan. Today, I'm going to help you get sorted into your houses. When I call your name, please step up and sit on the stool." Professor Levan unrolled a scroll listing names of new students. "Adam Lambert." A guy with brown loose pompadour hair plopped on the stool and Professor Levan placed the hat on his head. The hat magically came to life, showing a pensive face.
"Mmm..." said the hat, "honesty and loyalty... better be... HUFFLEPUFF!" The students at the Hufflepuff table cheered loudly as Adam walked to the table. Professor Levan went through students and the students were sorted from Gryffindor to Ravenclaw.
"Virgil DuPont," she said and Rogue stepped up to the stool. He leaned in to Professor Levan.
"For the future, I prefer to be called Rogue." He whispered. She nodded and placed the hat on Rogue's head.
"Hmm..." the hat mumbled, "Pure... ambitious... cunning... you are... SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table cheer vigorously as Rogue strolled to the table and sat down. He smiled to see Voltaire and Gerard sitting with him.
"Awesome to see you at our table, dude," said a guy in green hair, "the others have a tendency to get jealous of our power of bossness." Rogue raised an eyebrow.
"Um... okay," Rogue said, unsure what the guy's talking about.
"Oh, I forgot. My name is Sean, but my friends call me Jack."
"I'm Rogue. What put you in Slytherin?"
"Not sure. The hat said that I have determination."
"It claimed that I am cunning, pure, and ambitious."
"Pfft, you? Pure?" Snided a voice, "I highly doubt that." Rogue, Jack, Voltaire, and Gerard looked over at a guy in thick eyeliner, black scene hair, and a smartass smirk.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Rogue asked.
"The pure part is about your bloodline. You don't look like you're a fucking pureblood."
"Both my parents are wizards. Therefore I am pureblood."
"Not sure about your mudblood friends over there." Voltaire looked confused and Gerard clinched his fists. Rogue saw it and reminded Gerard that beating the guy senseless won't be worth it. Gerard breathed in deeply to calm down, stood up and walked to the Gryffindor table.
"Mikey," he whined, "someone called me a mudblood." Mikey widened his eyes.
"Show me who called you that crap." He demanded. Gerard took Mikey to the Slytherin table and pointed out the bully. Mikey took out his wand and glared at him. "Allow me to show you what happens when you mess with my brother." Mikey waved his wand and turned the bully into a weasel. He then levitated the weasel up and down and Professor Levan ran to the Slytherin table.
"Mikey, what are you doing?" She asked.
"Teaching a lesson on why not to mess with Gerard."
"Is that... a student?"
"Actually, it's a weasel." Mikey threw the weasel up to the middle chandelier and the weasel dangled from it, causing the students to laugh. Professor Levan used her wand to turn the weasel back to the student, still hanging from the chandelier.
"My dad's gonna hear about this!" The student shouted before losing his grip and falling to the floor. The students were crying with laughter until they were silenced by Professor Plant.
"Mikey Way," he said, "what is the reason for this nonsense?" Mikey looked at the student with an angry expression before turning to Professor Plant with a mature straight face.
"Dahvie was messing with my brother, Gerard, calling him a mudblood. He said that because he knows our mother is a muggle. So, he thinks a muggle parent makes us mudbloods. I was protecting Gerard. Have I took it too far? Probably. But, I love my brother and I'll do anything to keep him safe and secure." Professor Plant gave a small smile.
"You were able to admit when you were wrong and protect the ones you love. I will reward you 5 points for Gryffindor." Gerard hugged Mikey with a goofy grin on his face.
"Thanks Mikey," Gerard chimed happily, "you're an awesome brother." Mikey chuckled.
"No problem, little bro," Mikey informed, "just promise me you'll stay out of trouble?" Gerard nodded and they went to their proper tables, including Dahvie.
"Now that all of you have been sorted," Headmaster Plant chimed, "the heads of your house will take you to the common rooms. But first, let us feast!" Headmaster Plant flicked his wand and plates of food appeared out of nowhere; goblets flied in the room; and the aroma of the feast filled the air. The students dug into the food and chatted amongst each other. Rogue tried to enjoy his meal, but couldn't shake the feeling that Dahvie was completely off.
"Are you okay?" Gerard inquired.
"There's something about him that is making me completely uncomfortable. But I have no idea what it is." Rogue admitted.
"Who?" Jack asked, "Dahvie? Dude, he is real trouble. He touches people inappropriately without consent and always denies any wrongdoing he does. Hell, he's even attacked those who go against him. Poor Ash from Gryffindor almost died of asphyxiation in his hands. She called him out for putting poison in Professor Carter's tea. He got three weeks detention for that."
"She's okay, right?"
"Oh yeah. Luckily, the nurse catered to her and Ash recovered in a few days. Ash still fears Dahvie though." Rogue turned behind him and saw Ash talking to her housemates. Smiling sympathetically, he went back to eating with hope that filling his stomach will keep him occupied.
Later, he and his Slytherin housemates lounged around in the common room, talking and relaxing. Rogue sat close to the fireplace while the fire was constantly changing colors. He smiled a little as he remembered the times where he and his family roasted marshmallows during Christmas vacations.
"Hey," Jack said as he approached Rogue, "are you doing okay?"
"Yeah," Rogue sighed, "I just miss my family, that's all. Everything I see I just get a flashback to my early years."
"I've been getting those too. I look back on them fondly. I do miss my family, but I want to make them proud while I'm here, so I try to focus on my work as much as possible. I can be your study partner if you want."
"Thanks, Jack." Rogue smiled as he and the other Slytherins walked to the dormatories. Rogue sat on this bed and glided his hand across the covers. It was silky smooth and had a forest green color with silver snakes slithering around. He smiled a little as he shifted his eyes to his dorm mates. The guy's were laying back and kicking their feet up. The door opened and a middle-aged man strolled in, looking at the Slytherin boys. His hair was a bit stringy, but looks healthy enough. The robe the man wore was clean except for a few powered spots at the bottom edges.
"Alright, boys," the man rasped, then coughed, "'Scuse me." He took out a water bottle and sipped a couple times before clearing his throat. "My apologies. I had a dry throat today. Anyways, I am Professor Tyler, the head of Slytherin house. I'll be teaching potions for this year. If any of you see anything that isn't right, report it to any professor you see." Professor Tyler gazed at Dahvie in the back. Dahvie gulped and backed up to his bed slowly. Professor Tyler nodded and walked out.
"What's with him?" Gerard asked.
"I think he's terrified of Professor Tyler." Rogue said.
"I'm not surprised. Professor Tyler is chill with everyone else, but gives him a lot of shit. Dahvie would do something stupid and his ass would go to detention. And dude, the punishments Professor Tyler gives him made him so scared, his great grandchildren would be getting nightmares."
"Guys, it's close to 9," Voltaire interuptted, "we should be getting to bed." Rogue and Gerard nodded as they walked to their beds. Rogue slipped his boots off, tucked himself in, rolled up a pillow tightly, turned off the lamp, and fell asleep. He smiled in his sleep, excited to start his first semester.