Hey guys! For those of you who are new to my writing, my name's Elliot! So this is a story I've been planning for a few weeks with my friends. It's honestly a little plot-less at the moment, but the main plot will be in their fourth year. The first few years will sort of be a bit ambiguous and get-to-know them, so they won't be that long. Just a few notes before we begin;

1. This is set in the same time period as The Cursed Child, but I won't be acknowledging that plot.

2. Sirius, Remus, and Severus are alive in this for reasons, but everyone else who died in the books is dead. (I'M SORRY, DOBBY!)

3. A lot of characters in this are trans, nonbinary, bisexual, gay, lesbian, and more. I will delete any transphobic or homophobic comments, and block the creators. These characters are also not representative of everyone in the community, and do not invalidate anyone else's experiences.

4. There will be swearing, especially from certain characters. *cough* Arthur, Sam, and Jack *cough*

5. If there are possible triggers in chapters, I will post them at the start. If I miss one, post it in the comments or PM me and I will add it in.

Okay, I think that's everything. Enjoy!

There is only one word to describe King's Cross Station on the first of September each year, and that is; demented.

Rose White stood at the entrance, hands gripping the trolley in front of her, knuckles ghost-white. She glanced behind her, but she could already see the taxi pulling out of the station.

Too late to go back. And she wasn't even sure if he'd want her back.

She took a deep breath and pushed her trolley into the crowd of people mulling around the station. Somewhere around platform nine. That's all she knew.

She hadn't even seen her letter. Her father had just ordered her things by letter, and insisted she would find her way.

She glanced at her ticket again. Platform nine and three quarters. Okay. It couldn't be that hard to find.

She slowed as she neared platform nine and ten. Nothing. Well, that was only to be expected. She hesitated before pressing her hand against one of the pillars. Maybe a button or-

"Are you alright, Miss?"

She looked up as the conductor approached and opened her mouth. Then paused. No, if she asked about the platform, he would probably deem her insane. "I'm fine."

"If you're sure." He adjusted his cap. "Where's your family?"

"I'm getting on the eleven thirty train to go back to them." She forced a smile.

He watched her for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Carry on then."

He turned away as a group of French-speaking tourists approached him.

Rose took a breath and pushed her trolley to the next pillar and tried it. Nothing.

She looked around. This wasn't working. Maybe someone else could help. Her eyes landed on a girl about her age a few metres away.

Thin, brown hair scraped back into a ponytail sharpened her face and made her glasses look bigger than they probably should have. A heavy brown trunk sat atop her trolley, and Rose could see a light brown stick poking out of the pocket of her sweatpants.

Better than nothing. Rose took a breath and walked over to her with the trolley in tow. "Nine and three quarters?" She mumbled.

The girl jumped and looked up at her. "Uh..." Her brown eyes brightened as she processed what Rose had said. "Yes!"

"Okay, good. Do you know where it is?" Rose asked, her tone lighter.

The girl's shoulders slumped, and that gave Rose enough of an answer. "I thought you did."

Rose sighed. She wouldn't have gone up to her if she did. "Oh."

The girl hesitated and held out her hand. "I'm Arlene McCarthy."

"Rose White." Rose took her hand and shook it, though she was already looking around again.

"Do you know anything about it?"

"I just kind of assumed it'd be hidden and somewhere between nine and ten," Rose admitted. "I've been checking pillars to see if there's any buttons or anything."

"Maybe we could use these?" Arlene fumbled for her wand.

Rose stopped her with a shake of her head. "We'd probably end up in trouble if someone saw." Plus they were dangerous if you didn't know how to use them.

Arlene hesitated. "Maybe we could try to find someone else then?"

Rose nodded. Not a bad idea, but she couldn't see anyone- Never mind.

"Muggles everywhere. I don't know what the world is coming to." It was hissed, but Arlene and Rose happened to be close enough to hear it.

The parents both wore billowing robes, two boys following behind. One stood tall, but his shoulders were hunched and head low. The other's back was straight, making him almost the same height as the former.

Rose nodded towards the group and she and Arlene followed the path they made through the crowd.

"Karl, be careful about who you're friends with, understand? None of those Weasley children – a few are going in this year."

The first boy gave a nod, a few strands of blonde hair falling into his face.

"Good."

Rose frowned. "Should we be following these guys?" Arlene mumbled.

"Probably not," she admitted. "We'll just avoid them once we're through."

They stopped at the pillar between platform nine and ten. Arlene and Rose stopped a few feet behind them and watched as the parents walked through the pillar.

"Did that just-"

"Yeah, yeah I think so..."

"And the-"

"They didn't even-"

Arlene shook her head. The two boys went next, the single trolley between them. They disappeared.

Rose glanced at her. "Do you want to try first?"

"No, do you?"

"No."

Arlene looked at her. "I insist that you go first."

"No you."

"Hey, I'm trying to be polite."

"Oh, I'm sure you are." Rose folded her arms and Arlene gave her a sheepish grin. "Same time?"

"Alright..." Arlene nodded.

Their first few steps were hesitant, but they found themselves running through the barrier. A cold feeling washed over them as the light shining through the rooftop windows disappeared, but seconds later they were back in the train station.

Or rather, a train station.

Only one platform remained, and one train sat at it – old, and coal-powered. Hogwarts Express gleamed along the edges in brilliant golden font.

Rose pulled to a stop just before she could crash into someone. "Sorry!"

The person turned – the boy from before. He offered a small smile. "Don't worry about it."

Rose hesitated and gave a curt nod. "Thanks." She looked back at the train.

There was ten minutes before departure time, and most people were still milling around.

"Did you see Teddy kissing Victoria?"

"No, seriously. I got these from the Weasley shop – they work. Trust me."

"Mate, knock it off! Those muggle tricks are weird."

"Did you see the snake that first year has?"

Arlene took a deep breath. "I sort of don't want to get on."

"Me neither," Rose mumbled. She pushed her trolley over to one of the walls and grabbed her trunk.

"I thought you didn't want to?"

"I don't, but I don't have a ride home."

Arlene opened her mouth to argue, but paused. "Okay, yeah, me neither," she laughed. She grabbed her trunk and hauled it up, but staggered back into the blonde boy. "Sorry!"

"It's fine." The boy grimaced but gave her a smile. "Do you want some help?"

Rose gave him a withering scowl. "Don't you have some muggles to avoid?"

He looked away. "Not really, no."

Arlene tried to lift her trunk again. "I'll be fine. Thanks though." She staggered again and the boy caught one end of it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He smiled. "My stuff's already on the train, so I'll help you."

Arlene glanced at Rose, who sighed but shrugged. "I don't mind. It's your case."

Arlene gave the boy a smile. "Thanks. I'm Arlene."

"Karl." He returned the smile as they shuffled up towards the train with Rose behind them.

"Let's just go into the nearest carriage," Arlene decided, her voice straining as she adjusted her grip. "I think I overpacked a little."

Karl nodded. "I think I'm in that one too, so that's-" His arm shook under the weight. "-handy."

"I'll get the door," Rose sighed as they walked a little way past the first carriage so she could get in.

She held the door open for them as they squeezed through.

"Here, I'll help." Someone with short blonde hair stood from their seat. They took the trunk and hoisted it over their shoulders, up onto the overhead railing.

"Thanks," Arlene breathed. "Hopefully it won't fall on top of us now."

"Agreed." Rose pushed her bag up onto the shelf. "I'm Rose, that's Karl and Arlene."

The person turned to Arlene and held their hand out with a straight face. "Nice to meet you Karl."

Arlene took their hand with a small groan. "And you, er..."

They hesitated. "Jay."

"And you, Jay." Arlene grinned.

Jay turned to Karl. "And you must be Arlene."

"Oh, yes. Definitely." Karl smiled.

A whistle blew and the train began moving. Arlene stood on her toes and shoved her trunk in a little more – just in case – while everyone sat down.

Jay reached into their pocket and pulled out a packet of cards. "Exploding Snap?"

"Yes!" Karl grinned.

Arlene blinked. "What?"

"You've never played Exploding Snap?" Jay gawked at her. "Okay, come on." They pulled out the table from the wall and began shuffling their deck. "I'll teach you."

Elliot pulled open the door and hesitated when he saw someone inside. "Uh... hi."

The girl glanced up, black, curly hair falling over her shoulder. "Hey."

"Um..." Elliot licked his lips. "Is it okay if I sit in here? All the other carriages are full."

"Sure, I don't mind." She shook her head.

"Thanks." Elliot nodded and pulled his bag inside – a suitcase. His parents hadn't been keen on the trunk – "It's too impractical!" He forced it up onto the shelf and dropped into his seat. "I'm Elliot Quinn."

"Jade O'Connor." She gave a small smile.

Elliot dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a packet of mints. "Want one?"

"Sure, thanks."

He held out the packet and dropped three into her hand before taking one himself. They sat in silence for a moment, both sucking on the sweets.

Elliot bit the mint and winced at the loud crunch it made. "Um... Are your parents... Are you...?"

"Are they magic?" Jade's eyebrow arched. Elliot nodded. "No. What about yours?"

Elliot relaxed and shook his head. "No. I'm sort of worried I'll screw something up or they'll tell me they made a mistake."

Jade hummed. "As far as I know, they don't make mistakes. Plus they could check over it with magic, right?"

Elliot gave her a smile. "I guess so."

"Exactly." She nodded. "You'll be fine."

The door wrenched open, and Elliot jumped.

"I swear to God we're going to die in his car!" A boy complained as he dragged his trunk into the car. The boy behind him hummed in agreement, but didn't seem all that involved in the conversation. "He Confounded the driving tester. He had to have."

"Uh..." Elliot glanced at Jade, who shrugged.

"Yeah, but he's still technically allowed to drive."

The first boy lugged his trunk up onto the shelf beside Jade's with a grunt, followed by a carrier case, and plopped down beside her. "Legal my ass; they'll take away his licence before he even gets home." Jade blinked a few times at the language that fell from Jack's mouth.

"Then you don't need to worry about his driving." The second struggled a little and Elliot stood to help him. "Ugh, thanks." He sat down. "And there are other humans here."

The first blinked and looked over at Jade and Elliot, as though only processing their existence now. "Oh. Hi."

Elliot gave him a tiny wave while Jade nodded, unamused.

The second boy rolled heterochromatic eyes. "Sorry about him. I'm Arthur, and that asshole is Jack." Again, Jade blinked a few times. Elliot paused, as though processing that asshole had actually been used in a sentence.

"I resent that." Jack folded his arms, teal eyes narrowed. His purple fringe hung above them, not quite emo-styled but very much getting there.

"I'm Elliot."

"Jade."

"Muggleborns?" Jack guessed. Elliot's eyes widened. "Mate, you don't even have a trunk, how on earth would you be pure-blood?"

"Pure-blood?"

"There's generally three blood types," Arthur explained. "Muggleborns; people who have non-magic parents. Half-bloods; people who have one non-magic parent or grandparent, and one magic. Pure-blood; people who have only magic relatives."

"Ah." Jade nodded. "So you're both either half-blood or pure-blood then?"

"Yeah." Arthur nodded. "Pure-blood."

"And proud of it." Jack hit his chest with his fist. "Not like those watered down Weasleys."

"Jack, they don't realise you're joking."

"Right, sorry." Jack slumped back in his seat and looked at Arthur. "Did you see the Malfoy kid? How much do you want to bet he'll be in Slytherin?"

"I don't know." Arthur shook his head. "He was in my class. He's pretty kind. Might be a Hufflepuff."

Jade leaned forward, arms on her knees. "Can you remember that we have no idea about what you're talking about?"

"Sorry." Jack shrugged. He didn't sound it. "The Malfoys were a really elitist family of pure-bloods. Still are. Only one or two of them broke the tradition."

"And Slitheran and Huffpuff?" Elliot asked.

Jack stared at him for a moment before laughing. Arthur covered his mouth and tried not to as Elliot's face turned red. "H-Huffpuff, I-" Jack shook his head and started laughing harder.

"I'm sorry!" Elliot huffed.

Arthur shook his head. Curly brown hair bounced on his forehead. "Don't be; like I said, he's an asshole." Jack waved a dismissive hand and kept laughing. "At Hogwarts there are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

"Huffpuff and Slitheran," Jack corrected, still snickering.

Jade's lip quirked. "It was sort of funny."

Elliot groaned and hid his face in his hands. "No it wasn't!"

"Just a little."

Arthur grinned. "You're sorted into them based off..." He looked at Jack. "Traits? What you value?" Jack was still laughing. "Okay." He turned back to Jade and Elliot. "So Slytherin is for people who are ambitious, cunning, and proud. Merlin was from Slytherin."

Elliot blinked slowly. "I thought he was a myth."

"Oh wow. Okay." Jack started laughing again, though his first bout had just begun to die down.

"No that's fair," Jade agreed. "He's a fictional character in a muggle fairy tale about King Arthur."

Arthur wiggled his eyebrows. "You may now call me King Arthur."

Jack stopped laughing and glared at Jade. "Look at what you've done. You've taken a perfectly good wizard and given him confidence."

Arthur flipped him off. "Okay, Ravenclaw values wit, wisdom, learning, creativity, arts-y kind of things basically. Uh... Gryffindor... is bravery..." He frowned. "Jack, what else is Gryffindor?"

Jack cleared his throat and put on the poshest English voice he could manage – which wasn't all that far a jump from his regular accent. "Daring, nerve, and chivalry, my good man."

"Right." Arthur nodded. "And then Hufflepuff-"

"Huffpuff," Jack and Jade corrected. Elliot frowned at them.

"Hufflepuff," Arthur continued, "is dedication, patience, and loyalty."

"They're basically the little puppies of Hogwarts." Jack rolled his eyes and looked at Elliot. "You'll definitely be a fucking Hufflepuff. Mark my words."

"Um..." Elliot hesitated. "Okay."

He then flickered to Jade. "I have no clue what you'll be. Maybe a Ravenclaw or Gryffindor."

"Yeah, maybe," Jade agreed.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" A voice called, and the door was pulled back to reveal a smiling woman pushing a cart overflowing with sweets.

Jack's eyes lit up. "Everything."

"Jack, no."

"Jack, yes."

"Firs' years, o'er here!"

Sam jumped at the first bellow but followed the sound over to the growing crowd surrounding a man nearly twice the size of an average human, and five times as wide. Grey hair clung to his beard and he smiled at them, eyes twinkling. "Alrigh', there should be abou' a hundred o'yeh." He glanced around. "Is anyone missin' a friend?" Silence. "Firs' years, o'er here!" He called once more. The station was emptying, and no one ran over to him. "Alrigh', that seems abou' right. My name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Ground of Hogwarts, and I'll be takin' yeh to the castle. C'mon, an' leave yer trunks in a pile at the side. They'll be taken care of." He waved a hand and turned towards the steps.

He led them down a narrow path, instructing them to go two together at most, until they reached the edge of a lake.

"Four to a boat!" He called and people began scrambling to get in beside friends. "No more than four! Oi, mate, don't lose that cat!"

Sam waited for a minute or two and moved to one of the last boats with seats available. They recognised the boy – they had seen him saying goodbye to his parents at the station, but the other two they hadn't met before.

None of them really spoke aside from a mumbled greeting, and a jolt as the boats took off on their own. None of the three in the boat seemed that surprised, but Sam and one of the two clung to the sides of the boat.

The first girl smirked.

"Alrigh' duck under the ledge!" Hagrid called. "For Merlin's sakes, man, don't lose that cat in the water!"

Sam almost glanced around to try and spot the cat, but the ledge was too close to risk it. They lowered their head.

Ivy brushed over the tops of their backs.

"Yeh can look now!"

The castle stood on a hill, illuminated by a fiery glow. Towers steeped and cut through the night sky, windows blazing with light inside. The cliff it sat on hung over the lake, and Sam had to arch their head to keep it in his line of vision.

The boat bumped into the shore, and everyone began climbing out. "Not far left!" Hagrid assured them. Sam clambered out of the boat and stared at the hill.

"I'm not sure I can climb that," they mumbled. Their chest ached at the mere thought of it.

"Ye'll be fine, lass." Hagrid clapped their shoulder. "Le's go!"

Sam huffed but followed the stream of students up the hill. It was a slow incline – the kind that makes your legs burn as you walk and your lungs clench, though it feels like you're walking on flat ground and makes you question your fitness.

Then, inside the castle, there were more stairs to climb. Outside a large set of wooden doors, Hagrid stopped and leaned against the railing. Sam joined him in doing so.

"Alrigh', the Headmistress shoul' be here in a momen' or two. Don't move from here." He pointed at them. "We'll know if you do." He turned away and squeezed through the doors, trying to keep it as narrow as possible so they wouldn't see through it.

"What do you think will happen?" The boy from the boat mumbled to Sam. "I heard someone say you need to pull a rabbit out of a hat."

"That's stupid." Sam shook their head. White hair flopped down onto their nose and they pushed it up out of their face again. "We don't know any magic yet."

"I do." The boy grinned. "A little, anyway."

"Wow, great." Sam gave him a grin, a little too wide. "A triple plus for effort!"

The boy scowled and Sam's grin grew.

A hush fell over the students and Sam felt their shoulder tense. They looked up as a tall woman in long, green robes and a pointed hat descended the stairs.

She stood in front of them, critical gaze sweeping over the crowd, jaw sharp and pointed and tight, even as she spoke.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm your Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. Upon entering the Great Hall behind me, you will put on a hat and be sorted into one of four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin." The final name fell from her lips with disdain. "Over the course of the year, your houses will battle for the House Cup, which will be won based on points at the end of each year. Good behaviour will earn you points, and bad behaviour will lose them for your entire house." Her eyes softened – just a touch. "Your house here will become your family. Treat them with respect, and you shall receive it in return." She eyed a little boy holding a kitten. "I expect you to be silent upon entering the hall, and to behave with the dignity expected of you." A few nods, a few shuffles. "Very well." 

"Professor?" The person from the boat ran up to her and mumbled something.

After a moment, she nodded. "I'll make a note of that. Thank you." She turned towards the doors, wand sliding down from her sleeve. With a quick flick, they swung open and she strode inside. The first years scrambled to follow her inside, all eyes turned to them. They halted a few metres away from the teachers' table. Two tables stood on either side of them, the nearest housing students wearing blue and gold, and yellow and black.

Professor McGonagall stood behind an elaborate golden stand, a scroll clenched in her hand. Beside her, on a three legged-stool, a ragged hat sat.

For a moment, nothing spoke. Then, the hat's mouth moved and it burst into song.

"Oh you may think I'm ugly,
But you judge only off what you see.
I will eat myself, you see,
If you find you're smarter than me!

You can keep your neat-trimmed robes
And everything for which you mortals fall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap it all.

There's nothing you can hide from me,
Everything I can see.
Put me on, atop your head,
Let's see where you should be!

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart.
Their daring nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart.

You might belong in Hufflepuff
Where they are just and loyal.
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil.

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a steady mind,
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind.

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends.
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.

So put me on, don't be afraid,
And don't get in a flap!
I'll find you a lovely home,
For I'm the Sorting Hat!"

As the older years and patches of the first years clapped, Professor McGonagall unfurled the scroll. "When I call out your name," she announced after the last of the clapping had died, bar the occasional sharp one that rang through from one or two people wanting to be last, "come up to the seat and sit down." She picked up the sorting hat and glanced at the list. "Adams, Ellen."

A round faced girl with deep brown hair scrambled up to the stool, cheeks red. Professor McGonagall set the hat on her head. After a second, the hat bellowed, "RAVENCLAW!"

The table closest to Sam exploded in cheers and she hurried over to it.

"Beaumont, Arthur."

A boy with curly brown hair strode up to the stool and perched on it, hands in his lap. The hat barely touched his head. "SLYTHERIN!"

Arthur moved to the table a little further down from Sam that began cheering as Professor McGonagall called out the next name. "Beaumont, Jack."

Jack, probably a relative of Arthur's, walked up, shoulders back and head high. He barely even leaned against the chair, though the hat sat on his head for a second or two before calling, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Carlyle, Devie."

One of the girls from the boat Sam was in. She walked slowly, possibly out of leisure, or maybe nerves. She sat on the stool, and the hat hummed for a moment on her head. "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Clayton, Angel."

Sam had seen Angel on the train correcting a snickering boy half their age about their pronouns. Their short brown-blond hair was pulled into a thin ponytail with bangs framing their freckled face as they sat on the stool. The hat didn't even touch their head. "GRYFFINDOR!"

Sam tuned out for a few people until they heard their name.

"Dire, Samuel."

Sam barely even managed to react. Their chosen name on an official form? They stumbled up to the chair and sat on it, feet perched on the bridge between the legs.

The hat sat on their head, slipping over their eyes.

"Hm." Sam jumped. "Plenty of ambition. Brave too, that's good." The voice hung, gravelly in their ears. "Loyal. But you're creative, and very smart. You want to be an artist? Well then. I think I know where to put you." The voice stopped for a second. "RAVENCLAW!"

The blue and gold table burst into cheers as the hat was lifted from Sam's head. They grinned and made their way over to the table as another first year was called up. One of the older students they ended up next to patted them on the shoulder and grinned at them.

"Hughes, Saoirse."

One of the girls from the boat. Brown roots flowed down to blonde strands around her lower back as she walked up to the stool. She sat down and looked up as the hat was lowered onto her head.

Sam could see the mouth of the hat mumbling something to her. Finally, "SLYTHERIN!"

The green and silver table behind Sam broke out in cheers and whoops as the hat was lifted off her head. Saoirse grinned and made her way down.

"Odd," an older student beside Sam mumbled, "I could have sworn her family was Gryffindor..."

"Lumieux, Karl."

The older student tensed. "Bad family," she mumbled to them as the blonde shuffled up to the stool. "They supported Voldemort in the second battle."

Sam just nodded. They didn't know much about it, but the kid seemed pretty harmless.

The hat landed on his head. "SLYTHERIN!"

"Of course," the older student scoffed. "There's not a bad witch or wizard that doesn't come from there."

"Peter Pettigrew was Gryffindor," another student reminded her.

"You know what I mean," she muttered. "They're a bad lot."

Sam shifted a little further away from her.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

A boy with pure white hair – Sam scowled at their own hair, mumbling, "Why can't you be like that," under their breath to it – moved up to the stool.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Of course," the girl mumbled. "Malfoys are nearly as bad as the Lumieux family."

"Nearly." The boy shrugged. "Draco Malfoy turned around in the war."

"Maybe."

"McCarthy, Arlene."

The girl hopped up onto the chair, and the hat slid down over most of her face. "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"There's less this year than most years," the older girl mumbled to her friend.

He nodded. "The war would've cut down numbers. A lot of possible parents would have died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Plus Death Eaters went on rampage soon after and probably killed more than a few babies. "

"I guess," she agreed.

"Mulvany, Kieran!"

The boy that had been in the boat with Sam. He made his way up, hands in the pockets of his robe. The hat perched on top of his glasses for a short while, pressing down his mousey brown fringe before bellowing, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Still, I thought there'd be more," she sighed.

"O'Connor, Jade."

A girl with black hair down to the bottom of her back walked up, sliding back onto the stool. Like Sam, the hat sat on her head for a moment or two before deciding, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Good," the girl groaned, clapping along with the table. "We haven't gotten enough yet."

"Potter, Albus."

"Oh, here we go." The girl's eyes lit up. "Gryffindor, for sure."

The boy had straight black hair and bright green eyes that shone from his place on the stool as the hat covered them.

It was silent for longer than anyone else. "SLYTHERIN!"

A deathly hush fell over the hall before the Slytherins began cheering.

"Who was that?" Sam asked.

The girl stared at them. "Harry Potter's son! He saved the wizarding world in the war, and has a history of being in Gryffindor, as well as a rivalry with Slytherin!" She turned to gape at Albus, who sat beside Scorpius. "Wow... Never thought he'd be one of them."

"Quinn, Elliot!"

He rushed up and hopped onto the chair, face red and auburn hair pushed back from his face with what seemed to be half a tub of gel. "SLYTHERIN!"

Behind them, Sam heard someone start coughing and they turned to see Jack at the Slytherin table hitting his chest and spluttering over his drink as Elliot rushed to sit down.

"There's a good few Slytherins this year," the girl muttered. "Think that means something?"

Across from her, another girl shook her head. "Nah. Hopefully they'll be the next Merlins instead of the next Voldemorts."

"When a Potter is there too, I hope you're right." She shook her head.

"Randles, Salem."

A blonde boy with shaggy hair stepped up and sat on the stool. The one who had tried to impress Sam with his extensive knowledge of spells.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"I think I know him," the girl mumbled. "His brother's in our year. I think in Gryffindor too."

"Oh, yeah. Rick, right?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"Smith, Jay."

The short-haired person from the boat hesitated before walking up, shoulders back and a small, nervous grin on their face. They sat, their legs long enough for their feet to touch the ground.

The hat didn't even touch their head. "RAVENCLAW!"

Their grin grew as they made their way over to the roaring table of blue and gold.

"Not much left," the girl noted. "Think we'll get a few more?"

"Hopefully," the girl across from her agreed. "We only got about fifteen."

"Weasley-Granger, Rose."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Shit."

The boy elbowed her. "First years."

"Sorry!" She held up her hands defensively. "I wanted Hermione Granger's daughter; is that such a bad thing?"

"Still, watch your mouth."

"White, Rose."

The last one.

"Oh, hopefully we'll get her," the girl mumbled as a girl with blonde-red hair pulled into a ponytail walked up to the stool, face pale. "Everyone always remembers the first and last student. It'd be great if we got both."

The hat slid back on her head, held in place by the band in her hair. "RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table erupted as Rose made her way down and sat beside Sam, the older girl moving over to make room for her. Sam gave her a small smile as Professor McGonagall closed the Sorting ceremony and opened the feast.

Food appeared on plates across the hall, and Sam found themself grabbing for as much as they could, even though they knew they wouldn't eat half of it.

"You know there's dessert afterwards too, right?" Rose asked. Sam paused and put back the spoonful of mashed potato he had been about to take. "I thought so."

"I warned you about desert," Rose mumbled, shaking her head as she and the rest of the Ravenclaw first years followed the prefect up a flight of stairs to the tower.

"Yeah, I get it," Sam groaned, clutching their stomach. "But the stairs aren't exactly helping."

"And neither did eating five profiteroles, chocolate cake, trifle, and whatever else you grabbed."

"Shut up," Sam muttered.

The group shuffled to a halt, and Rose put an arm in front of Sam to stop them walking into someone.

"The Ravenclaw common rooms lie behind this door," the prefect announced. "As you can see, there is no door handle or keyhole. To get inside, you are asked a question by the knocker here." She gestured to the eagle-shaped knocker hanging from the heavy oaken door. "If you answer incorrectly, you must wait for someone else to come along and answer it correctly."

She turned to the door. It's voice was calm and soothing, though as it spoke, Rose couldn't identify a mouth. "What always comes but never arrives?"

The prefect looked around at the first years. "Tomorrow?" Jade suggested.

"Tomorrow," the prefect confirmed.

The door knocker hummed. "Wise choice." The door creaked open, and the prefect pressed it open further.

"Go on, head inside." They filed in, spreading out across the vast room inside.

The walls were circular and arched windows were draped in royal blues and golds. The carpet below them was adorned with shining stars, as was the roof above.

On closer inspection, the carpet seemed to be reflected on the room. Maybe by a mirror? Probably magic.

Shining chairs and desks were dotted around the room, and tall, thick bookshelves with ladders fastened to the walls.

"This is the Ravenclaw common room," the prefect announced, closing the door behind her. "You can come here during your free time, to do homework, weekends, between classes. You can also go down to the library. The dorms are behind the statue of the founder of Ravenclaw behind you – Rowena Ravenclaw." Pretty much everyone turned to stare at the marble statue of the woman behind them, a glistening diadem perched on her head. "Girls on the right, boys on the left. Names should be on the doors. We have a few extra beds if there are any mistakes."

Sam sighed as they followed Rose to the right of the statue. "There's magic. You'd think there'd be a spell to stop stomach aches."

"There probably is," Rose commented. "You just don't know it."

"Maybe." Sam climbed up a few steps. There was a grating sound and the stairs disappeared under them. Sam quickly jumped back and landed on their feet, just catching Rose before she could stumble back into Jade.

A few girls screeched as they slipped and skated back down to the bottom.

"Ah, shoot." The prefect rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that. Dire, boys dorm, room five."

Sam blinked. "What?"

"Boys dorm, room five," the prefect repeated. "The stairs only let girls or non-binary femme people go up to the girls' dorms." Sam hesitated. "Your stuff should be up there when you get there." She looked over as something similar happened at the boys' stairs. "Oh, sorry! Smith, right? You can go up to the girls' dorms, room four then."

"Uh..." Sam blinked again, a small grin growing across their face. "Okay. Thanks!"

They made their way over to the other side of the statue, passing Jay on their way. "All this time in the closet and I get outed by the bloody stairs," Sam heard them mutter under their breath.

Sam snorted and covered their mouth. When they began climbing, the stairs stayed stairs. At room five, a list of four names hung from a piece of parchment nailed to the door.

Johnson, Ahmed.

Creedon, Chris.

Gallagher, James.

Dire, Samuel.

Sam pushed open the door. The room, like the common room, was round and stone, with four canopy beds pushed against the walls.

Their three other roommates were already clambering into bed, and one of them gave Sam a small wave before crashing into his pillows.

Sam stumbled over to the last empty bed, their trunk at the side, and followed their example of falling into a pit of sleep.

The Charms classroom was airy, the seating tiered with wooden desks and stools, three per row and one aisle down the middle. Only the teachers' desk sat on the ground, bare bar one book.

Arlene glanced around as she walked in, gripping the strap of her bag. She had triple checked her timetable just to make sure that she had Charms in this specific room at this specific time.

She didn't exactly like being the first to the class, but she always seemed to end up being the person who was sitting there ten minutes before the class started.

She chose a seat towards the middle – she could see the board, but was still far back enough to doodle without being seen if she got distracted.

As she slid into her seat, a red-haired boy peeked into the room. His eyes landed on Arlene and he gave her a small smile before walking in.

She returned it as he neared her. "Is it okay if I sit here?" He asked, tone cautious and quiet.

"Yeah, of course." Arlene nodded and moved her bag over to give him more room.

"Thanks." He gave her a grateful smile and sat beside her. "I'm Elliot."

"Arlene." She reached down and pulled her Charms book out of her bulging bag. Going down to the Hufflepuff dorms was too much of a bother between classes, so she had stuffed all of her books into her bag.

Hopefully it wouldn't rip before the end of the term.

As she came back up, she noticed Elliot staring at her bag. "How have you not broken your shoulder?" He whispered.

She started laughing. "Honestly, I don't know; I've done this since I was five."

Elliot looked up at her, eyes wide. "Like... me too, but..." He looked back at her bag. "You have every book in there."

"I'll be fine." Arlene waved a hand. "Probably."

Elliot hesitated. "Don't die, friend. It's the first day."

"I'll be fine," Arlene repeated. People were beginning to file in, though no one took the empty seat beside Elliot. She pulled out her pencil case and took out a pencil. She favoured them over quills. "Did you forget your tie in the dorms?"

"Hm?" Elliot looked down. "Oh. Yeah." He rubbed the back of his head. "I kind of thought they were optional."

Arlene shook her head, smiling. "I can lend you one if you want. I have a spare."

Elliot hesitated, glancing at her tie. "Uh..."

"Hey." They both jumped and looked up as a boy dropped into the seat beside Elliot.

Elliot sighed. "Jack... Please..."

"I'm going to keep doing it." Jack grinned at him and looked at Arlene. "Hey."

"Hi." Arlene gave him a polite nod.

Jack glanced at Elliot. "You forgot your tie in the dorms?"

"I didn't mean to." Elliot folded his arms.

"People are going to think you're a bloody Hufflepuff."

Elliot's cheeks heated up as Arlene blinked a few times. "You mean you're not Hufflepuff?"

Jack started snickering. "See? Even a Hufflepuff thinks you're a Hufflepuff."

Elliot scowled at him. "Yeah, well I'm a Slytherin. And I don't see why me being mistaken for a Hufflepuff is so funny."

"You will." Jack shook his head. "Oh, trust me, you will."

The woman who walked in caused a hush, heels sharp on the stone floor. She wore a black pants-suit with a horribly flowered blouse that made her face look redder than it was meant to. Her blonde hair hung greasy and flat around her face, and her eyes were beady slits of blue as she leaned against her desk. "Good morning."

"Morning," a few chorused. One person yawned.

"As some of you may know, I'm Professor Gaffney." Her smile grew. "I'll be your Charms teacher for hopefully the next seven years." She tittered as though she had just told a joke. Elliot, Jack, and Arlene shared a glance. "Alright, wands out. Today we'll be practicing the hovering charm." She flicked her wand and a feather floated down to each person. "Repeat after me. Wingardium Leviosa."

"Wingadum Levisa," one person muttered.

Professor Gaffney's smile grew strained. "Wingardium Leviosa." A few people got it right this time. "Good. Now move your wand like so-" She flicked her wand up. "Wingardium Leviosa." Her feather floated up, and down again.

Jack raised a hand, one eyebrow raised. "I don't know if it's such a good idea to get us to try this so early," he commented, "given that someone pronounced it Wingadum Levisa, which could result in the feather blowing up."

Professor Gaffney only smiled at him. "Well I've never had anything like that happen to anyone in my class before, and I don't see why it should happen now."

"Really?" Jack hummed.

"Yes," she snapped. "Now practice the spell."

Arlene took out her wand. "Wend... Wingardium Leviosa." She flicked her wand up, but nothing happened.

"Wrong pronunciation. Soften the 'sa' a bit," Jack mumbled to her. "Try again."

"Wingardium Leviosa," she repeated. When she flicked her wand, the feather lifted a little, and dropped down again. Her eyes lit up.

"Beaumont, leave McCarthy to do her own work, and you concentrate on yours," Professor Gaffney called.

From another aisle, Arthur looked up from his feather. "What?"

"Not you." Professor Gaffney shot him a glare and looked back at Jack. "Stop distracting others."

Jack rolled his eyes and took out his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa," he drawled. His flick was more fluid and he directed the feather up, in a circle, and back down again.

Professor Gaffney gritted her teeth as beside him, Elliot frowned at his feather. "Jack, could you-"

"Beaumont, stop distracting other students."

"He was asking me for help," Jack protested. "I wasn't even talking."

"Minus ten points for Slytherin for talking out of turn."

One or two people groaned. Jack just snorted. "I'm just trying to help him get the spell right. Isn't that what you're meant to be doing?"

If her face was red before, there was no word on earth to describe the shade it turned. "I'm a facilitator; it's meant to be up to the students to do their own learning. I can't work with people who don't work with me."

"Yes, but Arlene and Elliot seem pretty willing to learn to me." Jack folded his arms.

"Minus twenty points for Slytherin," Professor Gaffney yelled. "Congratulations, Beaumont. In the first ten minutes, you have managed to lose all of Slytherin's points."

"Oh, is that a record?" Jack grinned.

"Detention, Beaumont," she snapped. "See me after class."

Elliot's shoulders were up as far as his ears as she latched her attention onto someone else's. "Sorry..."

"What for?" Jack shrugged.

"I got you in trouble..."

"Don't be." Jack waved him off. "Besides, I broke a record and it isn't even midday." He grinned. "Come on, you guys try the spell again."

Arlene cleared her throat. "Wingardium Leviosa!" She managed to direct the feather a little more, but it dropped down the side of the table.

"Okay, that's better, but what you want to do is-"

"Alright, class." Professor McIntyre strode between the desks. "Focus. We worked on the pronunciation and the wand movements last class. It's time to put them into practice."

Jade scowled at the galleon in front of her. "It's not that hard," Arthur commented. "Watch." He flicked his wand. "Geminio."

A second galleon shimmered and plopped onto the desk beside the first.

Professor McIntyre picked it up and examined it. "Nice work, Beaumont. Keep going."

Arthur grinned and shot a smirk over his shoulder. Jade turned to see both Jack and Sam glaring at him.

"You try."

Jade looked back at Arthur. "Sorry, what?"

Arthur waved at the coins. "Try the spell."

Jade hesitated and cleared her throat. "Right." She waved her wand, wider than Arthur had. "Geminio."

"No, not like that."

Jade frowned. "Like what? I did it like you did."

"Yeah, but your wand did a thing."

"What thing?" Jade's frown deepened.

Arthur flourished his wand. "That thing. You need to keep it tighter. Like this." He flicked it. "Geminio." Another coin appeared.

"But that's the same as how I did it." Jade waved her wand again, though it was tighter and less fluid than before. "Geminio!" Nothing.

"You're doing it wrong."

"I can see that."

Arthur sighed. "Look, keep it fluid." He moved his wand slower. "Just don't wave it around like a di- delightful kite. Okay. I don't know what happened there."

Jade stared at him. "Okay. So I just... don't wave it around?"

"Like a delightful kite," Arthur confirmed.

"Okay." Jade nodded. She flicked her wand. "Geminio." Nothing. "What did I do now?"

"Not kite-y enough."

Jade groaned and fell into her arms. "I give up."

"It's the second day."

"I don't care. I give up."

Arthur waved his wand aimlessly. "Come on, you're fine. Try again."

Jade groaned and pushed herself up. "Geminio."

"You didn't even wave your wand that time."

"Don't care."

"At least try."

Jade huffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine." She flicked her wand. "Geminio." A coin shimmered, and half of it appeared on the table.

"Okay." Arthur nodded. "Hey, it's better than before."

Jade shook her head. "Not really."

"Well at least you managed to get a bit of a coin." Arthur picked it up and tilted his head.

"Keep trying, O'Connor," Professor McIntyre commented as he passed them again. "You're making good progress."

Jade huffed and tried again. "Geminio." Nothing. "Great, now I'm going backwards." She slumped backwards in her chair.

Arthur hummed and picked up the galleons he had successfully duplicated. "I wonder if I can use these in shops..."

"Isn't that illegal?" Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think so." Arthur shrugged. "Why?"

"It is in the muggle world."

"Yeah, but muggles are weird."

"Touché," Jade conceded.

Professor McIntyre clapped his hands to gain their attention. "Alright, we're out of time. For homework, just practice that and try to duplicate something small tonight."

Jade shoved her books into her bag. "Finally."

"Class wasn't that long," Rose commented from behind her.

Jade turned slowly and met her gaze. "You're kidding, right?"

Rose shook her head. "I enjoyed it."

"Each to their own I guess." Jade hooked her bag over her shoulder. "You coming to lunch?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a moment. Just need to drop my bag in the dorms," Rose sighed. "Flight class next."

"Oh, who with?" Jade grinned.

"Slytherins."

"Great."

"Hey!" Arthur covered his heart with his hand. "I take offence to that!"

Jade squinted at him. "We have most classes with you and I always end up next to you."

"Not always. Just sit somewhere else next time." Arthur folded his arms. "If you dislike it that much."

Jade shook her head. "I just want to have some classes with Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. I don't know any of their names."

"So sit with them at lunch."

"We're allowed?"

Arthur opened his mouth, and closed it. "I... don't know."

"We're not," Jack supplied as he neared them. "Also." He leaned over and whacked Arthur's head.

"Ow!"

"Next time don't be a know-it-all."

Arthur scowled. "Why do you all hate me?"

"We don't hate you," Sam protested. "We just... yeah, okay, we hate you."

Arthur gave a dramatic gasp, and Jade rolled her eyes. "I'm going to lunch. I'll see you guys at flight class."

"Nope. Nope. I can't fucking do this." Sam clenched their hands in their pockets.

"Why not?" Rose nudged them. "You'll be fine. You've been doing well in every class so far."

"Yeah, but they don't involve flying fifty feet into the fucking air." Sam glanced up and looked down again. "Nope."

"Just tell Madame Hooch and don't do it then." Rose shrugged.

Karl hummed. They had found him trying to find his way out and between the three of them, they had managed to escape the castle. "But Jack."

"What about him?" Rose asked as Sam groaned.

"He's an asshole. You're lucky you haven't had to deal with him all that much."

"He can't be th- okay, no. I'm not going to jinx it."

"No, jinx him," Karl urged. "It might make him more bearable."

Rose stared at him. "But... A jinx would make him worse."

"Then why would you do the jinx?" Karl tilted his head.

"It's a muggle term," Sam sighed. "By jinxing something, it's like... Uh... Saying, 'At least it's not raining', and then it starts raining."

"So..." Karl frowned. "It's almost like a spell? Saying it won't happen will make it happen?"

"Exactly." Rose nodded.

"Oh. Okay then." Karl looked ahead. "Maybe you shouldn't jinx him then. He's been in a bad mood since he got detention."

"Again?" Sam looked up at Karl. "Isn't that two days running from her?"

"Who?" Rose asked.

"Gaffney." Karl rolled his eyes. "She's a monstrosity of a teacher, barely ever tells us what to do, and then complains because we don't even know what we don't know because she can't teach. She spent most of class today yelling at Jack for trying to help the Hufflepuff beside him because she didn't know how to do the spell."

"But... it's her job to teach, and when she doesn't teach, why is she complaining when he helps?" Rose frowned. "He's lessening her workload and everything."

Karl shook his head. "She just really dislikes him."

"I'm so glad we don't have her," Sam muttered. "We have Flitwick instead. He just got really excited whenever we got the spell right."

"Yeah, you're lucky," Karl sighed. As they neared the grassy area they had been instructed to go to, the lines of students came into view.

"We might be late," Rose mumbled.

"Just slide in at the back," Karl whispered. They split up, slipping in where an empty space was available in the house-divided lines.

Sam scowled when they saw Jack standing across from them. Jack smirked and silently tutted, shaking his finger.

"First things first," Madame Hooch called. "Stick your hands out over your brooms, and say, 'up'. Then we'll keep going with the plan."

Sam shot Rose a panicked look. They missed the plan. Rose shrugged and began mimicking the students.

Sam held their hand out over their broom. "Up." It shot up, and they barely avoided being smacked in the head.

Jack snickered. "Up." His broom shot up, and he caught it with ease. Karl's broom reacted similarly, as did Arthur's, and Saoirse's. Jessica glared at hers when it didn't go up the first time, and when she said it the second time, it jumped up.

Sam stuck out their tongue as Rose's broom swayed from side to side in a slow upward spiral until she finally grabbed it from mid-air. Jade mumbled, "Up," enough times under her breath that the broom floated up slowly, but steadily.

One or two people just leaned down and grabbed their brooms because they just wouldn't go up. Elliot, about as subtle as a bag of highlighters, dropped his when he bent down and had to fumble for it several more times before he even managed to grab it.

Madame Hooch didn't seem all that bothered. Once everyone had their brooms in hand, she blew her whistle. "Alright. Next, mount your brooms. And no one kick off before I blow this whistle again."

"Bet you're too scared to even do this," Jack hissed at Sam as they mounted.

Sam looked across at him, their eyes steeling. "Bitch watch me," they snapped. They kicked up, screaming the second they left the ground.

"Dire, get back down here!" Madame Hooch roared.

"Oh dear." Rose sighed. She looked over at Madame Hooch. "I'll just..." She kicked up into the air.

"White! Dire! Get down!"

"I'm just going to get them!" Rose called back as she followed Sam up. She caught up to them soon enough, though Sam was flailing on the broom and leaning forward to accelerate. Rose sighed, one eyebrow raised, an expression somewhere between amused and unimpressed on her face. Sam was still screeching like a pterodactyl. "Are you ready to go down?" Rose called. "Or do you still have a point to prove?"

"He can go fuck himself!" Sam screamed.

"Sam, wh-" Rose blinked. "Sam. Stop."

"Bet he didn't expect this!" Sam cackled.

"Sam, you're crying."

"I'm not crying, you're crying!"

"Sam, get off the broom!" Rose yelled.

Sam stopped, hovering on the spot. Rose had to pull a sharp turn to avoid crashing into them. "Why did you yell at me?"

"Okay, I'm bringing you down before we get into any more trouble for being up here." Rose shook her head.

Sam stared at her. "But why did you yell at me?"

Rose sighed. "Sam... You see, the reason I yelled at you is..." She leaned in close, as though about to expose the lifelong family secret that her six successive grandfathers died to keep safe. "You're an idiot." She glared at them. "Land!"

Sam frowned but followed her down to the ground, a dejected look on their face. Jack was still laughing when they reached the ground.

"I still can't believe you did that." Karl shook his head, dipping his quill into the pot of ink. Most of the Slytherin first years had just decided to try and get homework done together so that there was at least one person good at each subject, and people who struggled with those subjects could get help.

"I didn't know." Elliot frowned.

"You kept climbing the girls' staircase even after it turned into a slide," Arthur snickered.

"I thought it was a test."

"You latched onto the railing and tried to keep pulling yourself up," Scorpius added.

"I thought it was a test."

"The prefect had to levitate you down and bring you up to the boys' dorm," Arthur reminded him, "and tell us to make sure you didn't try to go back down."

"I thought it was a test!" Elliot cried. "And it happened yesterday! You all saw it! You all knew it happened! Can we please drop it!"

"I didn't know it happened," Albus piped up.

"Yeah, that's what you get for going up to your dorm early." Arthur nudged him.

Albus rolled his eyes as Elliot whined and hid his face in his hands. "I hate you all."

"No you don't," Arthur laughed. "Hey, what's the point of this Potions essay?"

"Snape. That's the point." Karl sighed.

Elliot leaned on his hand as he scanned what he had already written. "I'm done but I only have a foot."

"Let me see." Saoirse glanced at it. "No wonder; your writing is tiny."

"It's not that small."

Arthur glanced at it. "Holy shit, it is."

"Okay, but will he be okay with it?" Elliot groaned.

"Probably not. He asked for three feet," Karl pointed out. "Most others would be, but this is Snape."

"I guess..." Elliot sighed and grabbed another roll of parchment. He began transcribing what he had already written, but in bigger writing.

The door from the hallway swung open. Arthur frowned when he saw Jack walk in. "You're late."

"No shit." Jack rubbed his wrist as he flopped onto the couch beside Saoirse. "She had me lifting books all over her room."

Elliot frowned. "Is that a normal detention?" He asked. "In my old school, we just... wrote out the school rules a few times for an hour."

"You only got an hour of detention?" Saoirse's eyebrows arches. Elliot nodded slowly. "Did you go to a muggle school?"

"Yeah," Elliot replied, his voice as slow as his nod was.

"Huh. Muggles are weird." Saoirse shook her head. "Here we get the detention for as long as it takes us to do a job." She looked over at Jack. "But didn't she have you do that yesterday?"

Jack nodded, still rubbing his arm. "Yeah. She had me move everything back to the way it was before I moved them last night."

"Now that is weird." Karl closed his book. "She didn't have you do anything else?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope. Just move the books back into the exact same positions."

"Then why haven't you stopped rubbing your arm?" Elliot asked.

Jack dropped his hand. "No reason. The books just seemed a lot heavier today."

"Your arms are probably still just tired after yesterday," Albus commented. "Books don't get heavier."

Jack hummed. "Maybe." He didn't seem all that convinced.

Scorpius closed his book. "I'm going to go to bed. It's pretty late."

"Yeah, me too." Jack yawned.

Arthur caught his arm before he could leave. "You still need to do homework."

Jack's face crumpled and he groaned. "Fuck."

"Here, you can copy some of mine." Elliot passed him a few sheets of parchment as everyone began standing up. "I'll stay up with you for a bit – I still need to finish this essay."

"You're such a bloody Hufflepuff," Jack chuckled, though he took the parchment.

"I'll stay too." Karl stretched. "I'm not sure if I want to be in the dorm with your snake when you're not there."

Jack grinned. "Wise choice."

Elliot glanced up at the stairs, the last glimpses of the rest of the group disappearing. "Should we tell Albus and Scorpius about that snake?"

Jack snickered. "Nah. They'll figure it out themselves."

Hope you guys enjoyed! Please vote and review! See you next time, Murdering Majestors!