Confundo - Book 1

Arrival in a New World

Warm air welcomes me when I leave the train. I sigh with relief and blink into the dazzling sun.

The journey is over, finally. Although the Hogwarts Express is really impressive... sitting in an empty train for such a long time is really awkward and even more boring. I'm definitely, not made for being alone. And yet I still am.

I glance around. Apart from some birds, a horseless carriage and myself, there's nothing remarkable, and nobody to show me the way to the castle. I can already see the top of some of its towers above the treetops, but there is still an entire forest between Hogwarts and my humble self.

My stomach tingles at the thought of going to the most amazing school ever, and I start rubbing my hands with anticipation. This feeling even strengthens when I spot a cute little owl with maroon plumage sailing towards me, uttering high-pitched sounds. It drops something above my heads and disappears into the trees the moment later. Trembling with excitement, I catch the thing the owl has dropped. It is a letter.

Dear Ms. Fox,

as in my former letter, I want to welcome you at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unfortunately we weren't able to send you somebody to guide you to the school due to the annual primary confusion, but we brought you a map. With it's help, you may find your way around the school, and besides there's a carriage waiting for you to bring you to the school's border. We ask you to see the Headmistress's office at the soonest. And once more, we ask to be excused for the inconveniences.

Yours sincerely,

Filius Flitwick , Deputy Headmaster

And again I look at the little spires above the treetops and sigh. I can't wait. I read the letter twice, making sure I didn't overlook something important, then I grab my suitcase and approach the carriage waiting for me. My suitcase is rattling loudly and I start singing. I'm always singing when I'm happy. Well, I am also singing when I'm sad, I'm kind of always singing.

When I reach the carriage, I frown and look around. Normally, horseless carriage are useless, and there are no horses around... But I am in the magical world of wizards and witches, there is no such thing as normally. Therefore I'm not really surprise and I hardly wince when hearing a snorting neigh. I look closer and see the dirt close to the front wheels moving like a horse is pawing the ground. I smirk and cross my arms.

Invisible horses, eh? Well, I might have guessed, this fits in perfectly with the remaining image of Hogwarts. Awesome and different. I love awesome and I love different, so this is perfect for me.

Curious as I am, I reach out to pet the invisible horse. I back off, though, as soon as I feel bare, sleek skin instead of warm, soft fur. For some seconds  I am just staring at the spot where I assume the invisible horse to be, but then I blink and climb onto the carriage. I've already wasted enough time, and the Headmistress seems to be waiting for me.

And for the first time in my entire life, I actually want to make a good first impression.

The carriage starts off the second I'm finished arranging my things. After some minutes, we get to a high stone wall with an iron gate at the end of the road. I lean forward. "Could you please go a little faster, please?" I say to the horses. They whicker and actually speed up a bit, just to stop one moment later. "Hello?" I ask the horse. I don't know why I'm assuming the horse to understand me, but it seems right. "Is this the school's border, do I have to walk by foot from now?" The horse snorts and I take that as a yes. "Thank you very much, horse," I say before jumping on the forest floor.

I am just about to heave my suitcase off the carriage when the horse neighs loudly. I freeze and tilt my head. "Something wrong?" I ask amused and confused at the same time. I grap the suitcase's grip, and the horse neighs even more.

"What the fuck," I mumble softly. "Should I leave my things here or what?" I back out some steps and hear some quiet snorting. It sounds satisfied, and I nod. "Okay, little horse, as you wish. But I'm gonna take my bag with me, alright?" I shake my head and start following the path leading towards the castle.

This is crazy, I think while wandering through the forest, everything since I left my parents has been crazy. The Diagon Alley, Platform Nine and Three Quarters, the Hogwarts Express, then... well, the rest is history.

Finding the entrance isn't very hard, and in no time I enter the huge and majestic building. There are no people, which is kind of weird, but I am too busy gazing at everything on my way. Although I planned to head straight to the Headmistress's office, I spend several minutes exploring.

Looking at the walls made of stone bricks, the arches functioning as windows and the burning torches on the walls, I start wondering how they managed to make Hogwarts look that old although some many parts of it burned down in the Battle of Hogwarts about twenty-one years ago. But it is not only the building itself that impresses me, it is also the kind of powerful crackling vibe full of energy, power and singularity that has embraced me when I entered the castle. It makes me feel safe. And awesome.

Finally I enter a gigantic staircase. And with gigantic I mean that there are so many floors I can't count them, they seem to be infinite. The only difference to non-magical staircases apart from the extraordinary size is that these stairs are able to move. Just standing there and watching is incredible, some stairs are literally hovering. Oh yeah, and the uncountable pictures everywhere on the walls are moving. But I've already seen that in the Diagon Alley. Been there, seen that.

I notice very soon that it is really hard to find the right stairs in the right time. Every time I think I've found a way, the stairs start moving and hover away. The map doesn't make it any easier, quite the opposite, as it is confusing me even more. I sigh.

"Damn it..." I look around and the ridiculous, yet compelling thought of just hopping from stairs to stairs comes to my mind. I shake my head and giggle quietly. Some other time, hopefully.

I go on, my eyes glued to the map. And all of a sudden, I crash into something, wrong, somebody.

I stumble and glance up, staring into a pair of hazel eyes.