Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 14: A Magnificent Castle
The night air was cold and sharp, biting at Harry's cheeks as he stepped off the train onto the platform.
Lanters flickered on wooden posts, casting weak pools of light that barely touched the surrounding darkness.
A voice boomed through the silence, sounding rough and impatient.
"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! Move it! We haven't got all night!"
Harry turned towards the sound and saw him, a giant of a man, towering a full head above the tallest of adults. But he instantly knew this was not the warm, gentle Hagrid who had once befriended the Boy-Who-Lived.
His face was scarred, a thick, ugly line cutting from his brow to his jaw. It almost looked like it was made by something sharp.
His eyes were small and dark, and they held no kindness. He wore robes made of some rough leather and had a large crossbow slung across his back; the tip of the bolt could be seen at the top, gleaming in the lantern light.
He looked like a seasoned hunter...or perhaps an executioner.
"Stop gawking and form a line!" the giant barked, pointing a thick finger at the cluster of frightened first years. "You...Potter, I recognize your face. Get to the front."
Harry hesitated, then moved forward. The giant's eyes followed him around.
"Name's Hagrid," the giant man said, though he didn't offer his hand for a shake. "I'm the groundskeeper, as well as the Keeper of the Keys. And I've been told to keep an eye on you lot. No funny business and no wandering off. This forest has teeth, and I'm not in the mood to pull anyone out of a wolf's gullet tonight."
The first-years shuffled into a rough line. Harry saw Draco nearby, pale but composed. Pansy was gripping Vincent Crabbe's sleeve, and behind them, Ron Weasley stood with his arms crossed, flanked by two other boys Harry didn't recognize...stocky, mean-faced kids with the same expensive robes and cold eyes.
Hagrid led them down a narrow rocky path that sloped towards the edge of the great Black Lake. The water was still and dark as ink, reflecting nothing.
At the water's edge, they found a fleet of small wooden boats, a dozen or more.
"Four to a boat," Hagrid said. "No more, no less. And keep your hands inside the boat. Do not touch the waters...you have been warned."
"What's inside the water?..." Harry turned to Draco, who was standing at his side.
The blonde boy looked back at him and shook his head. "You don't wanna know."
Suddenly, Harry felt something behind him, and then he was shoved aside, almost making him fall into the lake.
"Hey!"
He turned his head just in time to see Ron Weasley. One of his followers was glaring at Harry with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"I'm taking this one," Ron announced, stepping into the nearest boat.
His two companions climbed in after him. "The rest of you, find your own and stay out of my way."
Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Draco.
"Come on," he said quietly. "There's room in that one."
They climbed into the boat. Harry, Draco, Pansy, and Crabbe settled into the bow with the grace of a sleeping bear.
The boat rocked slightly, then steadied.
Hagrid took the last boat alone, his massive weight making it sit low in the water. He raised a lantern and grunted. "Forward!"
The boats responded to his command and began to move. They glided across the Black Lake without oars or sails, drawn by some hidden magic.
The water was so dark it seemed bottomless, and Harry found himself staring into it, half-expecting something to rise from the depths.
Then they rounded a bend in the cliff face, and he finally saw it clearly...Hogwarts.
The castle rose from the rock like a living thing...towers and battlements, hundreds of windows glittering with golden light. The stars seemed to gather around it, as if drawn by its presence.
It was magnificent and breathtaking. Everything he had ever imagined and more.
For a moment, all the fear and tension melted away, and Harry stared at it.
'This,' he thought. 'This is truly magical.'
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Pansy whispered beside him.
Harry nodded, unable to speak.
Draco watched him from the corner of his eye. "First time seeing it?"
"Yes," Harry responded. "But I feel like I've known it my whole life."
"I know how you feel. I have seen many pictures and paintings of the castle, but it is also my first time being here." Draco said. "Well...I suppose that is the case for all first-year students. People can't just come here unless they are a student or an employee."
The boats passed through a curtain of ivy that hung over a dark opening in the cliff, then emerged into an underground harbour.
The stone walls were slick with moisture, lit by torches that burned with a steady orange flame.
Hagrid climbed out first, tying off his boat with a thick rope.
"Out," he commanded. "All of you. Keep your belongings with you, and no wandering around."
Harry stepped onto the wet stone, his shoes slipping slightly. He grabbed Draco's arm to steady himself, and they followed the crowd up a winding passageway that opened into a broad, grassy area at the foot of the castle.
The entrance was a massive oak door, banded with iron. It stood open, warm light spilling out onto the grass.
A woman was waiting for them just inside.
She was tall and carried a severe expression, with dark hair pulled into a tight bun and emerald green robes that seemed to warp the light.
Her face was sharp, her lips thin, and her spectacles sat on her nose like a judge's gavel. A silver badge gleamed on her chest, bearing the words: Chief Inquisitor.
This was Minerva McGonagall.
Harry felt a chill that had nothing to do with the low temperature.
"Silence," she said, and the word cracked like a whip. The first-years fell silent instantly, even the loudmouth Ron Weasley. "You are now inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will obey the rules and follow instructions. You will speak only when spoken to. Any violation will be noted."
She paused. "Listen well, because I will not repeat myself. Since the moment you were first given the privilege to attend this school, you have all been given three credit points. These points are yours alone to keep. Any serious infraction of the rules can carry the additional punishment of one point loss. If you lose all three, you will undergo a re-education course, and IF you manage to pass this course, you will be gifted three additional points. However..." her eyes became sharp. "If you were to lose these extra points...your time at Hogwarts will come to an end, among other consequences. Six credit points, that is all you will get for the next seven years. Those credit points are your lifeline, but they also reflect your demeanor, which will be recorded in your personal file. If you wish to have a promising career in the future, I would recommend you to avoid losing a single one of them."
Harry felt shivers running through his body. He just recalled his encounter with that auror at the train station...he mentioned something about him losing a credit point for taking his Muggle family into the magical side of the boarding area.
'Does that mean I only have two now?' If that was the case, he had already started on a bad foot.
"Pick up your belongings. Form two lines and follow me. Do not lag behind, do not wander, and do not speak."
She turned and strode into the castle without waiting for a response.
Harry grabbed his handbag and fell into line beside Draco.
Pansy was directly behind them, with Crabbe bringing up the rear like a silent wall.
They walked through a great entrance hall lit by floating candles, their footsteps echoing on the stone floor.
Portraits line the walls, hundreds of them, filled with witches and wizards who watched the procession with varying degrees of interest and disdain.
A few of them whispered to each other while occasionally pointing at Harry.
"Potter," he heard one of them say. "James Potter's boy"
"Shame about the parents."
"Dumbledore will sort him out."
Harry tried to ignore their comments and kept his eyes forward.
McGonagall led them to a small, empty chamber off the main hall.
A holding room, Harry realized, where they would wait before the Sorting.
The walls were lined with benches, and a single torch burned near the door.
"Wait here," McGonagall said. "The Sorting will begin shortly, and you will be called to enter. Until then, you will remain here in silence."
She left, closing the heavy door behind her.
The silence lasted approximately ten seconds.
"Well," Ron spoke while leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, "that was dramatic. My father says she enjoys making people squirm."
Heads turned towards him. Some students looked impressed while others looked nervous.
Ron's eyes found Harry. "Potter, I see you have found more losers to hang around with." He said in a mocking tone while pointing at Draco and Crabbe.
"Mind your own business, Weasley." Harry was already getting tired of this twisted version of Ron. And the year had just started.
Ron smirked. "Or what?. Will you tell the Chief Inquisitor on me? Go ahead. She'd probably give me a medal for putting you in your place."
Harry decided to ignore the annoying brat and turned around, surveying the room.
There were perhaps forty first-years in total, a mix of boys and girls, all wearing a wide range of expressions.
He could recognize some of their faces by the original book descriptions. A tall, dark-haired boy with a sharp nose, who was likely Theodore Nott.
A tall girl with mousy brown hair and blotchy skin...Millicent Bulstrode.
A chubby kid with short dark hair and elegant clothes...Neville Longbottom.
That one got him worried...
And then he saw her.
She was standing alone near the back of the room, clutching a stack of books to her chest as if they were a shield. Her hair was long and bushy, her robes slightly too short, and her front teeth were just noticeable when she pursed her lips.
Hermione Granger.
Harry felt a strange jolt of recognition. Not from personal memory, of course, but he knew so much about her...about who she was supposed to be.
She was supposed to become his best friend, his partner in adventures, and the brightest witch of her age.
But this world was so different, and everyone was so changed that it made him hesitate before approaching her.
However, he needed to make sure...to know who she was here, so he walked towards her.
"Hi," He said, keeping his voice low. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
Hermione's eyes widened. She looked at him, then glanced around the room as if checking for witnesses.
"You are not supposed to be talking," she whispered. "The Chief Inquisitor gave explicit instructions. No speaking."
"I just wanted to introduce myself," Said Harry. "We are going to be classmates for seven years. It seems weird not to-"
"Rules are rules," Hermione interrupted, her voice sharp. "If we break them now, what's to stop us from breaking them later again?. Order must be maintained. Discipline is the foundation of a functioning society."
She turned away, hugging her books tighter. "Now, leave me alone."
Harry stood there for a moment, stunned.
A laugh rang out from across the room.
Ron Weasley was staring at Harry, his smirk wider than ever.
"Rejected by the only commoner witch in our year," Ron called out, loud enough for everyone to hear. "That's embarrassing, Potter. Even for you."
Several students laughed. Others looked away, embarrassed or frightened.
Harry felt his hands curl into fists. He was too furious at the moment to notice that Ron had referred to Hermione as a "commoner witch" or that he said she was the only one in their year.
But before he could respond, the door to the chamber swung open.
McGonagall stood in the doorway, her expression colder than ever.
"The Sorting is about to begin," she said. "Form two lines. Follow me. And remember...silence."
She turned and walked away.
It was time for the sorting.
Harry could not help but become worried when thinking about what his future house will be like.
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