Percy was in awe, once again, by the magical wizarding world.

This castle was magnificent. It was huge, and welcoming. It felt warm. Safe. Like a camp fire deep in the woods battling away any dangers. He was hopeful. This warmth gave him hope. For his future, and that maybe he picked the right place.

He was glad to have gotten away.

He wasn't afraid to admit he was still scared of Gabe. The very thought of him was enough to close his chest up. To labour his breathing.

But seeing this place, this beautiful place, was enough to wash his worries away.

Glancing around the grand chamber that could easily fit 4 of his old apartments in it, he took in the delicately crafted archways. The effort in making them looked tremendous, and tiring, and he couldn't be more grateful as he was able to eat the fruits of their labour, and boy did they taste good.

His eyes caught sight of the hanging torches that ran along the length of the corridor. Illuminating the hallway in a swathe of a calming orange.

He always felt conflicted looking at fire. There was something deep inside that told him it was wrong, that it shouldn't be there, and that it deserves be put out. It felt dangerous, and foreign, like it was his enemy.

But he also saw what fire brought. The light that couldn't ever be put out. A beacon in the darkness you can rely on. He felt safe, when he looked at them.

He tried to catch a glimpse of the ceiling that hung above them, but it was far too tall to make out in only the torchlight.

In front of them was a a woman, who beckoned them forward.

Following behind the rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses, he spotted a regal marble staircase leading to upper floors.

Following her past the stairway, he noticed that she, like everyone else in this world, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. She also had black hair, which she had drawn into a tight bun.

Towering above the first years, the tall witch lead the group of new students across the flagged stone floor.

Percy heard the sounds of voices increasing, the further down the hall they went. They passed a very large doorway on their right, where the voices reached their peak, so he guessed the rest of the school must be inside already.

Instead of joining them through the door, the witch leading them, who Percy only just remembered Hagrid introduced as Professor McGonagall, ushered them all into a small, empty chamber just off of the hall.

Filing through one by one, they were all soon crowded in, standing alarmingly closer to one another than normally done, glancing nervously around to each other.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which appeared to be fastened under his left ear, and then on a smudge on Ron's nose. He felt Harry nervously try to flatten his hair beside him on his right, while he himself did his best to straighten his already pretty straight robes.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly. "

She left the chamber, and he heard an audible swallow from his right.

Harry spoke up, asking Ron about the sorting system. "How exactly do they sort us into houses?"

He was also interested in this, not being from a wizarding background, and admittedly not paying any attention when Dumbleodre explained things to him and his mom.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Answered the tall, ginger haired boy, not doing anything to help settle the anxious nerves everyone in the crowd was feeling.

Taking a quick glance around, he noticed a lot of people also looking around anxiously, some even looking quite terrified.

Sure he'd learnt a couple of spells, but he'd never really practiced them, and couldn't even do them half the time unless he had a minute to calm down. It didn't help to hear the girl from the train, whisper on to anyone who'd listen about all the spells she'd managed to learn, and which she'd need.

What if that's what Hogwarts expected of all its students? Afterall, he himself had even practiced some, and he's a notoriously bad student. He could only imagine what the other first years had already done.

Of course, he should be resting easy, it didn't seem like Harry or Ron had even opened their books, so he may well just be overreacting.

Just as he was about to have fully calmed himself down, the were several screams coming from the people behind him.

The loud noise got his heart rate going, this time it was adrenaline propelling it, not anxiety. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and his senses started whirring on overdrive.

It wasn't the loud, sudden noise that got his back up, no, he'd heard louder, and more sudden noises before. It was the cold. The room got so much cooler, and ice felt it's way creeping up his back, stabbing at his neck.

Spinning around, his hand slipping into his right pocket, he caught sight of the commotion.

Hearing Harry, and the other people around, gasp beside him, and the bespectacled boy exclaim, "What the - ?" he couldn't help but focus.

Things seemed slower than they normally do, and his eyes were picking up the smallest of details, to the goosebumps on Harry's exposed wrist, to the bead of sweat trickling down Neville's neck, glistening in the dimly lit room.

Snapping his eyes off of the clumsy boys neck, he mentally snapped his focus back to the task at hand.

His eyes focused on the cause. About two dozen pearly white, transparent figures had just streamed through the door they entered from. The closed door. Each of these ghostly figures were gliding across the floor, bickering amongst themselves and hardly glancing at the assembled group of scared first years.

Percy could hear the conversation, but he wasn't listening to it. These clearly weren't a threat, as they were just going on their way and talking like any other people, or ghosts should he say.

He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, as he slowly calmed his breathing down, letting his grip on his pen loosen. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he could still see it was white, with his blood slowly colouring it back to normal.

He didn't dwell on his hands being clammy after his intense pen holding, and was more focused on why the hell he chose his pen, when his magic death stick was in his other pocket.

He could still feel the blood being pumped around his body much quicker than normal, but his calming breaths had helped. Taking another deep breath, he looked towards Harry who still had a paler face than usual.

A sharp voice helped bring back some sense of normality to his world, as he heard Professor McGonagall say, "Move along now, ths Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

The witch confirmed his suspicions that the ghosts weren't threats, as she looked far more exasperated than defensive.

For as long as he could remember, he had always ran towards danger, never away. Well, the times where it didn't just find him. He ran his mom ragged with this, probably forcing her to age a few years more than she actually is. He couldn't help it, he just had an insatiable urge to help people. To protect them. Now was no different, he hoped at the first chance to fend off the threat.

Forming a line, as ordered by the deputy head, he stood behind Harry, but in front if Ron, before walking out of the cramped chamber back across the hall, before heading towards two very large double doors leading into the Great Hall.

If Percy was overawed by the entrance hall, this was something else. The entire place was stunning and magical, and for the first time in his journey, he felt like he had truly transitioned into the world of magic. Before, he always felt like he still had one foot out of the door, as though at any minute, his entire perception of the world would be stripped before his eyes, and he'd be waking up back in New York. Back with Gabe.

But now, he no longer had those doubts. With every candle of the thousands there were, he felt his worries just ebb away. There was no longer inner turmoil inside of him.

Floating high above the floor, the candles, each and every one of them, looking like stars against the dark backdrop of the high ceiling, twinkling over everyone.

Underneath these, were four very long tables, crafted out of a very dark wood, that were nearly filled with a couple thousand students, all wearing the same black robes currently adorning his own body. Upon these tables, were ornate golden plates, with matching goblets, intricately designed with patterns too far away for him to see.

As Professor McGonagall lead them forward, he looked ahead and saw another dark table, where a collective group of adults were sitting, who were presumably the teachers.

The first years were lead to a slightly raised platform in between the students and teachers, a platform that allowed the smaller students in the crowd a chance to see.

Taking his eyes of the pale faces in the crowd, he cast them upwards once more, a growing suspicion that the ceiling wasn't actually a ceiling, and was in fact the sky, although it wasn't anywhere near as cold as he'd expect it to be with an open roof.

He heard a quite thud as Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in the centre. With a much quieter noise, only heard due to the silence of the room when the first years walked in, was the almost imperceptible slump of a hat falling down on itself on top of the stool. The hat itself was far too patched and frayed to be anything other than hundreds of years old, and it looked like it hadn't seen a wash in the amount of time too.

Percy didn't know what to make of the hat. Was it like a magicians hat? Was there a rabbit in it? Or did you have to put it on, and it would cover your entire body and put a house crest on your robes? More and more outlandish thoughts rippled through his mind, each seeming less likely than the one before it.

By now, Percy had noticed the entirety of the hall staring at this hat, waiting for something. He followed their line of sight just in time, and saw a rip open near the brim, like a mouth.

Then it sung,

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, never, 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 ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

A thunderous applause echoed through the room as the admittedly talented hat finished its song. He noticed it appear to bow to each of the four tables, by practically bending in half. It was quite an odd sight.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to us. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Percy smiled at that, relieved himself. His mind had quite the overactive imagination, and he felt the doubts creep up once more, so to find out he would just have to accessorise was a huge relief.

Knowing that Harry was nervously anticipating what they'd have to do, he looked over to make sure he was a bit happier. Noticing the grimace like smile on his new friends face, he asked him, "Eveything okay, Harry?"

Harry's face was still pale as he looked towards Percy. He looked at the inquiring sea green eyes, and found himself growing calmer, feeling like he was gently rocking on a wave, he felt his barriers lower as though he could tell Percy anything, as though he had to tell Percy everything.

"I, Er- I suppose so, mate." Harry started, staring intently at Percy's eyes, almost transfixed. "It's just, what if I'm none of them, you know? What if I'm not brave, or quick-witted, or any of them, where do I end up? I've never found a place I've belonged, and when I finally start to feel like the wizarding world could be it, I find out there's a chance that I still won't find anywhere." Harry couldn't stop himself. He never would have dreamed he'd share his deepest insecurities with someone he just met. While he felt Percy could be a good friend, it wasn't like he trusted him yet, they had only just met afterall, so why did he share all of that?

Percy didn't know how to handle this information. He'd expected a simple answer of yes, or no, not an insight into Harry's deepest fears. He didn't know why Harry decided to share so much with him, they barely knew each other. But he was glad that he did, as it meant his new friend trusted and liked him enough to share his worries.

He looked at Ron to see if he had anything to say, but found him waving to his brothers in the crowd.

"Hey, Ron?" He asked the boy.

Turning away from his brothers, Ron glanced over to the two of them, "Yeah?"

"What do you think about it? Do you think there'll be a house for Harry? Where do you reckon he fits best?" Asked Percy, on behalf of Harry to catch Ron up on the situation.

Ron caught Percy's eyes, and found that he couldn't look away. He saw gentle ripples go across the surface of Percy's eyes, like watching the surface of a lake on a warm summers day. He could vaguely hear the faint plop of a fishing line sinking into the surface, lightly disturbing the water.

"Erm, I - I think he'll end up in Gryffindor. It's where all the brave wizards and witches go. Defeating You-Know-Who is an almost guarantee you'll end up there. I wish I was going to Gryffindor, where all my family have gone. I want to live up to what they have achieved, and become a great wizard. But I'm most likely going to end up in Hufflepuff or something, if they don't kick me out for being a squib first." Ron finished, before blinking his eyes and shaking his head.

"Wow. Did I just say all of that ought loud?" His freckles almost hidden by the reddening of his cheeks.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm sure you're not whatever a squib is, and you'll end up where you want to." Harry assured Ron, thinking it best to help his nerves, considering he clearly just let slip his inner beliefs which meant he truly though Harry would make it to a house.

Neither of the three boys knew what just happened, and why two of them decided to confess their worries, but they didn't have time to dwell on it much, for the sorting was apparently underway.

They each heard a loud shout of, "HUFFLEPUFF!" come from the hat, and a pink face girl with blonde pigtails lift the hat that was halfway down her face, and stumbled off the podium towards the table on the right, where a round of cheers and claps sounded. The girls confidence grew with every step and she finished her walk in stride.

"Bones, Susan!" was called up next, the name of the first girl lost to Percy.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to the first girl.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several of the Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Percy could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.

Percy could sense Harry beside him growing more nervous, so he placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry turned to face him, and looked into his eyes, before he whispered, "Erm-I-I just feel a little sick. Don't worry."

So Percy let it go.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" was called up next, and was placed into,

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes, Percy noticed, that the hat was quick to shout out the house, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to the trio of three new friends in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

It wasn't long before he was up.

"Jackson, Perseus!"

This was it. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, out of the line. He felt a hand clap him on the back, and Ron whisper to him, save me a seat in Gryffindor, will ya?"

He turned to face his friend, and gave him a weak smile, before looking over at Harry, who gave him two discrete thumbs up.

Nodding to the both of them he let out the breath he was holding, and turned around. Sterling himself once more, he walked forward to where his future was sitting on an old stool. He was faintly aware of Professor McGonagall in front of him giving him a thin smile as he approached.

Eyes locked onto the hat that was now in the Professors hands, he slowly turned around and face the large audience, before cautiously sitting down on the rickety stool.

He felt something land on his head, before sliding down his face, the world now blocked from view.

"Ahh, interesting." Spoke a small voice in his ear. "But also most difficult. I see lots of loyalty, not afraid to harm others for your friends. Hmmm, and bravery too. Always standing up for the little guy, even putting yourself at risk. Curious, most curious indeed. Lots of talent here too, and great ambitions, Merlin is always a good target... but where to put you?"

Gryffindor doesn't seem too bad, he thought to himself. He felt his life was defined by his need to protect everyone, not just his friends, and it helps that Ron wants him to go there to be with him.

The small voice spoke up, "Gryffindor, eh? Could be a good fit. For you don't seem like a Slytherin, you have the ambition, but how far would you go to achieve that if it meant hurting your friends? Not very far." Percy had to agree with that.

"Hufflepuff, could be a good fit," carried on the small voice, "There's not a lot you wouldn't do for your friends. Yet ou've never been the most patient or hardworking. But you are both daring and brave, with an unshakable nerve... so it better be GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat shouted the last word, and he heard a roar from the table in the far left, and lifted the hat from his head, the manic cheering slowly coming into view.

Standing up shakily, he placed the hat back on the stool, and made his way down to his new table. He spotted Ron clapping just as loudly from the group of first years, while Harry offered up a large smile. He hoped the sorting hat would send them the same way he was going, so he wouldn't be alone.

He sat down next to Hermione, who turned to smile at him, mirth radiating off of her, before she offered her hand. Accepting it, he couldn't help but smile back at her, looking into her brown eyes, he didn't know what Ron was upset about, sure she spoke a lot, but she was nice.

He had just turned back to the sorting, when he heard her speak up, "Er-I-I just want a friend. You know? To fit in with someone."

That got him to stop turning. He looked back at Hermione, and could see her eyes watering, looking like glass. Like they could shatter at any moment.

He didn't know why everyone suddenly just started telling him their worries, but he had a feeling he was a lot more involved than he first thought.

He gently smiled at her, and said, "I'll be your friend, if you want?"

Wiping a tear away with the back of her hand, she let out a little laugh, and nodded. "Hah, sure. I'd like that." She sniffled a little, but looked much better than 10 seconds ago. He smiled at her one last time, before looking back at the sorting.

He tuned back in, just in time to see Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, get called. He winced a little as he saw him fall over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and appeared to get his wish at once if his smug smile was anything to go off: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.

There weren't many people left now before his friend, Harry. "Moon". . . , "Nott". . . , "Parkinson". . . , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil". . . , then "Perks, Sally-Anne". . . , and then, at last -

"Potter, Harry!"

Loud whispers broke out across the room as he saw his friend step out.

"Potter, did she say?" Came from the Hufflepuff table, and "The Harry Potter?" Was from the Gryffindors.

Looking up at his friend, Percy watched Harry's nervous eyes scan the entire room, before the hat dropped past them, obscuring his view.

It wasn't long before Percy saw Harry's cheek rise a little, and his head turn slightly, as though he flinched slightly.

He laughed to himself, guess he got a tad spooked by the voice. Not that Percy could blame him, he'd seen everyone do the same, and was sure he'd probably done it too.

It wasn't too long before Harry's sorting was complete, noted Percy, probably on the longer side of them, but it was similar to his own in length, before he heard the hat shout, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Percy wasn't as worried as he was immediately after his sorting about Harry or Ron not coming to Gryffindor with him, because he felt Hermione would make a great friend and he'd enjoy her company in Gryffindor, but he was still more than happy to hear that at least one of his friends would be joining him.

It didn't take long for Harry to make his way over to his new house table, being greeted with many claps on the back by jubilant housemates. He sat down opposite the two new friends, Percy and Hermione, being introduced to the latter straight away by the former. Something Hermione really appreciated if her beaming smile at Percy was anything to go off.

The three of them chatted between themselves. Well, it was more like two, as Harry noticed Percy and Hermione mainly talking between themselves and having a good time so he didn't want to intrude. He decided to keep an eye out for Ron instead.

There weren't many people left before Ron, and in no time Professor McGonagall called up the now pale green boy.

Harry got Percy's attention, and the two of them watched as their friend shakily sat down, and the hat get placed on his head.

Not a second later did the hat shout, "GRYFFINDOR!" And a now much more healthy looking 11 year old collapsed into the chair beside Percy, the one he had been saving, and gained immediate congratulations from his siblings and new friends.

After being properly introduced, Ron still wasn't taken with Hermione, he didn't like how she showed him up before on the train, and thought she was better than everyone else, but he remained polite as he didn't want to upset Percy.

Professor McGonagall called the last remaining first year up, a boy by the name of "Zabini, Blaise." It wasn't long before he was made a Slytherin.

After he sat down, and the clapping quieted, the room soon came alive with the buzz of thousands of students all intermingling and pondering about the coming year.

That is until Dumbledore stood up. He was positively beaming at his students, old and new alike, stretching his arms wide open, as though there was nothing that could please him more than seeing everyone here.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Percy just stared up at the man, not knowing what to make of him, or the extra evidence that Dumbledore was a very strange person.

"Is he - a bit mad?" he heard Harry ask Ron's brother Percy, uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

He watched Harry's mouth flop open, and his eyes stare angrily at the feast that just appeared before everyone, filling the beautiful dishes.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked Harry, tapping him on the shoulder as he did so.

Harry's mouth slowly closed as he looked over and caught Percy's eyes.

"Wel-er-I've just never seen so much food that I like, and am able to have. The Dursleys, the people I live with, they never really starved me, but I would only ever be given scraps. It's just a little overwhelming to take in all at once, is all." Harry overshared, once again.

Percy nodded as Harry spoke, it made sense afterall, he'd never really had a proper meal, and now there was an endless supply. He was also concerned about why everyone suddenly decided to share things with him that they probably shouldn't be sharing so casually, and there was now no doubt that he was the cause of it.

The rest of the feast was spent with the four of them growing to be better friends, well more like the three and the two of them. Harry still felt uncomfortable butting in on Percy and Hermione's budding relationship, and Ron was taught that if he didn't have anything nice to say, then he shouldn't say anything at all, so he kept his mouth shut. Percy was comfortable chatting with both his somewhat older friends, and his newer friend.

About halfway through the feast, Hermione got onto the topic of spells. Asking him which he'd learnt and done, she rattled off the ones she had done.

There was some overlap between the two of them, with Hermione knowing a lot more spells, but only being able to do about the same as Percy.

"I've tried alohamora a couple of times, but it never worked. Luckily mum wouldn't let my dad throw out the key, because he wanted to help me learn in a situation where I had to succeed. What about you?" Asked Hermione, curiously.

"I've tried it a couple of times, and I've managed to get it working. In fact I used it on the train ride to unlock my trunk." He answered, a little embarrassed that he could do something the brain box in front of him couldn't.

Hermione looked at him, mouth a little agape, "Wow, you've got to teach me what you know. I can do the same for you." Her brown eyes looked at him, almost forcing him to say yes.

Smiling at her, he said, "Sure, that sounds great."

"Ah, excellent."

"Have you done the fumos spell yet? It was the first spell I did, and it's a lot of fun." He asked, matching the bushy haired girls quick paced speaking.

She shook her head, bushy hair falling into her eyes. "Not yet. I've looked it over, but I've never been able to do it."

"I can show you if you want? It was the first spell I showed those two." He gestured to Ron and Harry. "I tried teaching it to Ron, but he wasn't concentrating enough. Harry managed it though. I can try and teach it you."

"I don't know Percy, isn't fumos the smokescreen spell?" She bit her lip, a little anxiously.

"Oh yeah, I suppose it is. But don't worry, the landlord at The Leaky Cauldron taught me another spell, finite, and I've used it a few times. It cancels out spells, you see." Percy tried easing her nerves.

It seemed to do the trick, as she nodded her head, eyes bright in anticipation.

Clearing his throat, he fished inside his left pocket, and brought his magnificently crafted wand out.

Taking a deep breath, he focused on the spell. Closing his eyes, he raised his wand and swung his arm with the practiced movements, and said, "Fumos."

He opened his eyes in time to see the astonished and awed look on Hermiones face disappear behind the the inky black whisps racing from his wand.

Pooling together just above everyone's head, the smoke cloud was rapidly growing bigger and bigger, and gaining a lot of attention.

The chatter of the room was quickly silenced, eyes transfixed on the spell. Hushed whispers ran through the room, most centering around, "What is that?"

Stopping the spell once he thought it to be big enough, he looked over at Hermione, his eyes alight with mirth, a smile spreading across his face.

Hermione was awestruck. She'd never been able to do the spell, but she just knew the speed and potency of Percy's incarnation was something to marvel. That's when she noticed the silence of the room.

Casting her eyes around, she noticed most people staring up at the inky smoke ball above them, except for the few who recognised the spell and figured a first year was trying out some magic, or Fred and George were messing around.

She looked back at Percy, smiling as she did so due to his infectious grin. "You might want to cast that counterspell now. People are looking. That was really good though."

Percy was quite chuffed with himself. He'd managed to impress someone who had already managed to complete lots of spells already. But he did see what she meant, lots of people were looking, he even saw a few inching towards their pockets, probably thinking about dispelling his spell.

Taking another calming breath, he raised his wand once more, before reciting, "Finite." and the smoke was gone, sucked straight into his wand in the blink of an eye.

He was grateful that nobody seemed to realise it was him who cast the spell, it would save him a lot of awkwardness later on. He guessed his fumos spell must have happened in the blink of an eye, much like his finite spell, for no one to notice it.

Well no one, except the headmaster, who was currently looking down at the young wizard, chatting obliviously and aimlessly to his new friends.

Professor Dumbledore smiled to himself, before speaking quietly, "He sure is going to be something special."