A/N: Thank you for all the love on the first chapter! I've moved back to school, so I don't know how consistently I'll be able to post, but I thought I'd get this chapter out of the way before my classes officially begin. This chapter is a little longer than I expect following parts to be, but I'm happy with how it came out. As always, feel free to let me know what you think :)
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry opened its doors to all kinds of magical individuals. The castle welcomed every kind of magical blood unconditionally – it did not matter whether you were born to two magical parents, or two muggles. The castle did not discriminate. The people inside of it, however, were a different story. This was a reality that became clear to every muggle-born student who walked Hogwarts' corridors. For some, they were informed of their place in the Hogwarts hierarchy even before they entered the castle.
Alaris Isabella Hewett was born to a muggle mother and father, who, when Alaris received her Hogwarts acceptance letter, were thrilled. They embraced it all – Diagon Alley, packing her trunk for school, taking her to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and waving to her as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from both the platform, and all that was familiar to Alaris.
She had found herself an empty compartment to sit in and was soon joined by a young red-haired girl, who brought with her a gangly boy with slick black hair. Lily and Severus seemed nice enough, and they were second years, which meant they were able to prepare Alaris for what was waiting for her at the castle. Lily was much more talkative than her companion.
"Well," Lily spoke around a piece of Drooble's Blowing Gum, "You'll go with Hagrid on the boats, then you walk up to the castle for the sorting ceremony." She elbowed Severus, pulling his gaze from out the window to the candy wand she was offering him.
"Hagrid?" Alaris scanned the pile of sweets that the kids had bought off the trolley before picking up a box of jellybeans.
"He's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts," said Severus. He chewed at the end of the liquorice wand, watching Lily as she blew a large bubble with her gum.
"You can be sorted into Gryffindor, like me, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or you could be in Slytherin with Severus."
Alaris wrinkled her nose in disgust as she bit into a sock flavored jellybean. "And what does that mean?"
"Well, your house tells you what tower your dorm is in, and you get sorted based on your personality," Severus answered.
"More like your values," Lily said.
"Gryffindor is bravery, Slytherin is ambition, Hufflepuff is loyalty, and Ravenclaw is intelligence." Snape took another bite from his candy wand.
Just then, the door of the compartment slid open. A young pale boy stood in the doorway, sheepishly glancing from Alaris to Severus and Lily. "I'm sorry about this but... d'you mind if I join you? I was sitting with my brother but he kicked me out so he could talk with his friends," he said in a scratchy voice,
"Sure," Lily smiled, gesturing to the seat next to Alaris.
He smiled appreciatively and sat down as Alaris scooted toward the window. "I'm Regulus Black."
"Black?" Lily said. "Are you Sirius' brother?"
Regulus nodded and turned back to the girl sitting next to him.
"Alaris Hewett."
Regulus raised an eyebrow. "Hewett... I don't believe I recognize that name. Is your family from London?"
"Yes, but my parents aren't magical," Alaris said as she played with the hem of her skirt. "I'm the first witch in the family. It was a bit of a shock for my parents," she laughed, completely missing the change in Regulus' expression. "When I began making oranges explode by looking at them – or the time that I managed to turn the cat into a teacup, and just by petting it! I suppose –"
"You're a mudblood?" Regulus spat nastily.
Both Lily and Severus gasped, while Alaris stared at Regulus in confusion. It was clear that "mudblood" was not a conversational term.
Severus stood up after hesitating for a moment. He moved across the cabin and held the door open. "I think you'd better find somewhere else to sit."
Regulus stared blankly at Severus before standing. "And I assume you and your friend are also of questionable lineage?" He nodded toward Lily.
"I'm a half-blood, not that it's any of your business, first year." However demeaning his words might've been, their power was snatched away by Severus' hunched shoulders and quivering hands.
Regulus turned his nose up and strode out of the compartment. Lily put down the cauldron cake she had been about to eat, her appetite diminished. Severus quietly returned to his seat and resumed his staring out of the window. The sound of the train's chugging filled the compartment entirely.
Alaris opened her mouth tentatively, "Er, what did he mean?"
Lily looked up, her expression soft. "You mean, what did he mean by 'mudblood'?" Alaris nodded. "Some people –," Lily paused to correct herself, "some wizards hold the ridiculously outdated belief that wizards with muggle parents are somehow dirty, or less pure than they are. But you must pay them no mind. They're just going along with whatever nastiness their parents spew at them. There is no merit to the idea of "impure" magical blood. Trust me, I spent many nights in the library researching the subject myself."
Severus remained silent, though he was looking at Lily out the corner of his eyes. His posture had become quite stiff at the mention of blood purity, which did not go unnoticed by Alaris. Lily continued talking, her arms now crossed defensively over her chest.
"Besides, the entire concept of blood purity is unsustainable – they're probably planning on marrying their cousins rather than "tainting their magical blood," she spoke in an obviously mocking tone. "Don't let them get to you. Just surround yourself with the right kind of people and it won't be a problem."
Alaris did want to befriend the "right kind of people," though after her encounter with that seemingly normal and nice boy, she wasn't sure who she would be able to trust in this new world that she'd stumbled upon. Before she could consider the ramifications of this new information, a voice filled the cabin. "First years – we will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Alaris suddenly felt a pit of nervousness in her stomach.
Lily leaned forward, setting a hand on Alaris' knee. "Better get your robes on, you won't want your clothes to get all dirty in the boats."
"Boats?" Alaris exclaimed, wide-eyed.
Lily gave her a knowing smile. "Don't worry about it, Hagrid will take good care of you." She stood up and reached for the bag above Alaris, from which she pulled the robes that the Hewett's had bought in Diagon Alley. Lily helped Alaris pull them onto her shoulders as the train came to a stop. Severus stood again to open the compartment door while Lily pulled her own bag down onto the seat.
Alaris gave Severus a halfhearted smile before slipping into the crowded corridor. "Say, Hewett!" Alaris turned to face the boy. "Did you really turn your cat into cup?"
"It went back to normal after a few seconds," Alaris admitted.
Severus nodded and smiled. "You'll have no problem at Hogwarts – and tell that to McGonagall, I'm sure she'd love to know."
Before Alaris could ask who that was, she was carried down the corridor by the sweeping throng of students, all rising on their tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the misty platform that they were stopped at. Once they'd filed onto the platform, the sight to see was an impossible large man, with a large and scraggly beard that consumed half of his face.
"Firs' years follow me! It's time ya' get yer first look at Hogwarts!" The man called, raising a lantern toward the dark sky as he waved the students forward.
Alaris was too focused on maintaining her footing on the rocky path to pay attention to the students that surrounded her, or the shimmering spectacle that lay ahead. Once the narrow, treacherous path opened to reveal a sprawling lake, the shore of which was maintained much better than the path, which Alaris had nearly tumbled down. She kept her head down even once the terrain had flattened, watching out for any stray roots that were hoping to snag the toe of her sneaker. A chorus of "Oooohs!" and "Ahhhhs!" sounded from the students, prompting Alaris to look up from her feet. Her jaw dropped, like many of her classmates, as they gawked at the towering castle that sparkled across the lake. It's towers and turrets were dazzling, and it's windows were beaming with warm, golden light.
"Four to a boat, please!" Hagrid bellowed, gesturing to a fleet of small rowboats bobbing up and down at the shore.
Chatter erupted among the first years, excitedly clambering into the boats. Alaris sat down in a boat with two girls. The three of them all shared an expression of awe and worry. The girl on the bench next to Alaris had long, straight blonde hair that flowed down to her hips, and she was quite pale – almost sickly so. Her flushed cheeks made her appear as if someone had painted her cheeks like a doll.
"Do you know if there will be vegetarian options at dinner?" The girl asked, turning toward Alaris, who did not realize the question was directed at her until the girl had tapped her shoulder.
"Oh!" said Alaris. "I don't know – I suppose so."
"There are." Both Alaris and the pale girl turned to face the bench across from them. The other girl had bright brown eyes and full lips, which she smacked as she spoke. "My entire family has gone to Hogwarts and my aunt is a vegetarian, so I'm sure that there are still non-meat options." Her ankles were crossed delicately, though she spoke with authority. "My name is Beatrice Spinnet, I expect I'll be in Gryffindor, though I guess I wouldn't mind Hufflepuff – I doubt that I've got enough wits for Ravenclaw."
"What about Slytherin?" Alaris suggested.
"No, no, I don't think so. Slytherin's have a bit of a nasty reputation – did you know that?"
Alaris shook her head. "It feels like I don't know much of anything around here."
"Muggle-born?" Beatrice asked knowingly. Alaris nodded. "And you?"
"Half-blood," the blonde girl replied. "I'm Chelsea Chang."
"Alaris Hewett," said Alaris quickly when she realized that the other two girls were staring at her.
"I suspect we'll be taking off any minute –" Beatrice's remark was cut short as Regulus Black slipped into the seat next to her, and the boats lurched forward.
"Hello there!" Beatrice yelped.
"Sorry about that, didn't realize we were only allowed four to a boat, the one back there threw me off." He was pointing towards another boat now leaving the shore. Regulus extended a hand toward Beatrice, "Regulus Black."
Beatrice took his hand and shook it fervently. "Beatrice Spinnet."
Regulus looked to Chelsea.
"Chang, Chelsea," she nodded, pleasantly. Regulus smiled in return, then glanced at Alaris before ducking his head down. The expression on his face was unreadable – some precise mixture of distain, discomfort, and guilt.
Before Alaris could fully process this odd behavior, leaves were catching in her curly hair. The boats glided through a curtain of ivy, down a dark tunnel and into a large cavern where the boats docked on the rocky shore. Hagrid held his lantern high into the air, ushering students onto dry land. Chelsea and Beatrice stepped out of the group's boat and brushed off their robes. Alaris let Regulus go ahead of as well, not wanting to have another unpleasant run-in with him.
Alaris moved to follow the rest of her shipmates, but was met with a hand that appeared almost white in the darkness of the harbor. She looked up to meet Regulus' eyes. The look on her face said more than she intended it to, since he frowned and let his hand fall to his side before walking off. Alaris climbed onto shore, gaping at the vastness of the space she stood in, and she could only imagine what was waiting for her behind the large front doors that Hagrid was leading her to.
The doors opened to an impossibly wide hallway, in the middle of which stood a tall, stern looking woman. She wore her black hair in a tight bun, up and away from the collar of her purple robes. Her eyes darted across the group as if she were waiting to pounce on one of them. Alaris gulped.
"I've got the firs' years here for ya' Professor McGonagall," Hagrid smiled. His black eyes were glinting in the light that shone from the torches inside.
"Well then, let us continue into the hall," McGonagall said. She spun around on her heel and walked up the large marble staircase that sat at the end of the hall. Hagrid gave one last wave before retreating back into the night.
The throng of first years moved forward, staring up at the ceilings or studying the torches lining the castle walls. Beatrice appeared next to Alaris, spouting off facts about the castle that Alaris couldn't keep up with. She was vaguely aware of the tall, green eyed boy walking next to her. His robes stopped just above his ankle, revealing a pair of bright orange socks.
The group came to a stop in front of another pair of doors, and McGonagall turned to face them once again. This time, she held a scroll in her hands. Alaris thought it must've come from within her robes, but she hadn't seen the Professor reach for it. The idle chatter that had been bouncing about the students ceased under McGonagall's stare.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she smiled. "The start-of-term feast shall begin momentarily in the Great Hall, though you must first be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony is greatly important. While you are here, your house will be like your family. You will attend classes with your house, spend free time in your house common room, and sleep in your house dormitory. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Individual triumphs will be rewarded with house points, while rule-breaking will result in the deduction of said points. At the end of year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup – a great honor, here at Hogwarts.
"In just a moment, the Sorting Ceremony will be conducted in front of your older schoolmates. I suggest you prepare yourselves accordingly," McGonagall shot a look in the direction of Beatrice, whose hair had become quite unruly in the night air. She quickly raked her fingers through it, arranging it over her shoulders precisely.
The boy next to Alaris leaned over to her. "Do you reckon it hurts – the sorting, I mean."
Alaris shrugged. "I wouldn't think so... or at least I hope it doesn't." She looked over to Beatrice, but she seemed more concerned about her appearance than whatever was waiting for her behind the Great Hall doors. This put Alaris at ease.
"Are your parents wizards?" The boy asked. Alaris shook her head. "Me neither," he shook her hand firmly. "Dirk Creswell."
Alaris had begun to introduce herself but was interrupted by the sound of the doors swinging open to reveal a bustling hall. Professor McGonagall instructed the first years to form a line, and just like that, they were off. Alaris stood in front of Dirk as they moved between sets of long tables, all occupied by chattering students. At the opposite end of the hall, an array of people in variously styled robes and cloaks were seated. A man with a long white beard, half-moon spectacles, and a pointed hat sat in the very middle of the table, in what appeared to be a golden throne. The professor's smiled at the incoming students, though the gesture went unnoticed by many. Most of the first years were walking with their heads thrown back, gaping at the night sky that hung where the ceiling should have been. Dirk grabbed Alaris' arm to stop her from walking into the person in front of her. She quickly pulled her eyes from the ceiling and back to Professor McGonagall, who was now unfurling her scroll.
She stood next to a large, rather ragged hat sitting atop a stool. The severe woman looked out-of-place next to such a clumsy looking object. Alaris and the other first years jumped when the hat twitched, then fully sprang into motion. The hat split at its brim to reveal a mouth, from which it began to sing, of all things!
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you fan find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hates 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, 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 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 chorus of cheers erupted in the hall and the Sorting Hat bowed to each of the four tables. Professor McGonagall stepped forward once again, giving the hat a tight smile before holding her long roll of parchment in front of her. Alaris was relieved that she just had to try on the hat, but the prospect of sitting on the stool, all eyes on her, left her feeling a bit sick. She glanced to her right and caught a pair of green eyes. Lily gave her a reassuring smile before their attention was drawn back to McGonagall.
"When I call your name, you will come forward to sit on the stool and try on the hat!" Her shrill voice rang through the hall, sending a shiver down Alaris' spine. She now held the parchment in one hand and the top of the Sorting Hat in the other. "Adams, Archibald!"
A short, pudgy boy stepped out of the line and shuffled to the front of the hall. He kept his eyes down as he jumped onto the stool. McGonagall waited for him to make himself comfortable before she set the hat on his head. It fell over the tops of his ears, nearly over his eyes. Archibald's legs swung back and forth as the hat settled on his head. The silence that had filled the hall was abruptly shattered by the hat's cry. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The table to the right burst into applause and Archibald quickly ducked out from the hat and ran to take a seat. Alaris could have sworn that she'd seen a ghost dancing merrily at the far end of the Hufflepuff table. Professor McGonagall called out the next name. A girl with wide blonde hair strode forward. Her knuckled gripped the edges of the stool until they went white, and her eyes were screwed shut in anticipation of the hat being placed upon her. The Storing Cap barely touched her hair before it erupted again. "GRYFFINDOR!"
The table where Lily Evans was sitting gave her a warm and loud welcome. Alaris' nerves were only heightened by this. McGonagall's smile had grown wider when the cap had sorted the first Gryffindor of the year. She turned back to her scroll, still firmly gripping the hat. "Black, Regulus!"
Regulus stepped out of line and moved to the stool. He hopped onto it with the most ease out of the students who'd been sorted previously. The hat settled on his head and remained quiet for a moment. It seemed to be thinking something over. Alaris saw Regulus glance towards the Gryffindor table, where she spotted a boy with long-black haired boy. Based on their similar appearance, Alaris figured that was the who Lily had been referring to on the train – Sirius Black.
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat bellowed. Regulus smiled, slipping off of the stool and joining the cheering table on the far left of the hall. Sirius dipped his head down and the spectacled boy next to him nudged him.
"Chang, Chelsea!"
Chelsea smoothed her skirt as she sat on the stool. Her white hands laid flat in her lap as her thin eyebrows knotted them into a line of worry. The heel of her shoe tapped the wrung her feet were propped on, cutting through the silent hall.
"Hmm..." the hat wriggled on her head. "Better be...RAVENCLAW!"
The table directly to the left of the first years clapped and made room for their new member on one of its benches. Many other names were called, but Alaris could hardly hear McGonagall or the cries of the hat over her thumping heart, which had moved from her stomach to between her ears. She'd never been more nervous in her life. Just as she was planning how she'd walk to the stool without her knees giving out, Dirk wrapped on her shoulder from behind.
"Go," he hissed.
The hall was completely silent. McGonagall was craning her neck, looking for someone. The professor called again, "Hewett, Alaris!"
Alaris closed her eyes and kicked herself. Of course, she had to embarrass herself before she even stepped out of line. She quickly walked forward, rushing toward the stool before she could register how many people were staring at her. Of course, once she got to the steps up to the stool, she tripped, nearly falling onto all fours in front of the entire school. McGonagall yelped and reached to catch her, but Alaris waved her away, nervously laughing as she regained her footing and sat down. She heard some giggling from the left side of the hall, which she desperately tried to ignore. Based on the time that her classmates took, Alaris would have to sit on the stool for at least minute until the hat made its decision, and she was hoping that her face wouldn't be entirely red by that time.
To her surprise, and to the surprise of McGonagall, who jumped slightly when it happened, the Sorting Hat didn't even tough Alaris' hair before it spat out, "RAVENCLAW!" Chelsea and the rest of the Ravenclaw table cheered as their new member leapt from the stool and slipped into an available seat.
"We'll be together!" Chelsea hissed excitedly from across the table, flashing Alaris the first genuine smile she'd managed that evening.
"Creswell, Dirk!"
Dirk cleared the space between him and the Sorting toll in remarkably few strides, and perched himself on the stool without incident. The hat once again wriggled before nodding to itself. "RAVENCLAW!"
A grin broke across Dirk's face and he practically ran to his house's table. He sat next to Alaris and shook hands with Chelsea, who seemed much more talkative now that she knew her place at Hogwarts. Alaris set to introducing herself to some of the older Ravenclaws surrounding her. They all seemed nice, enough, if not a little spacey.
"I guess we'll be seeing more of each other, Hewett. Nice job up there by the way," Dirk snickered. Alaris rolled her eyes.
The rest of the Sorting Ceremony was conducted smoothly. Beatrice Spinnet was also sorted into Ravenclaw, though she claimed that the hat told her she'd be an asset to Slytherin house. The Hogwarts class of 1979 was split fairly evenly between Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff, while Ravenclaw only welcomed thirteen other students. The head boy, Darren Gills, assured the new students that it was for the better – they couldn't just let anyone into the house of wit.
A large spread had appeared across the four tables, sending hungry Hogwarts students into a frenzy of chicken legs, meat pies, puddings, and luckily for Chelsea, many vegetarian bakes. Alaris' suspicions from earlier were confirmed when a ghost popped through her plate of potatoes, nearly sending her tumbling out of her seat with fright.
"Peeves!" chastised Darren, who made the pointless effort of whipping his hand through the poltergeist's head in the hopes of shooing him away.
The ghost was laughing at Alaris' expression when he retreated back under the table. Alaris let out a long breath, looking up to see a pair of eyes staring at her from the Slytherin table. Regulus was laughing, presumably at Peeves' antics and their affect on the "mudblood" he'd met on the train. Alaris turned her nose up at him and served herself another helping of sweet potato.
After the feast, the man with the white beard stood, and the hall became quiet. He introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore, which Alaris recognized from her Hogwarts letter - he was the headmaster of the school. He went on to remind students that the forest was forbidden to all pupils, with a rather pointed stare at Sirius Black and his friend. He also mentioned something about Quidditch trials. Beatrice told Alaris and Dirk that Quidditch was a game with flying broomsticks, but that seemed quite ridiculous. Alaris would have said that such a thing was impossible, but then again, she was sitting in a magical castle with a magic wand sheathed in her school robes.
Dumbledore then led the school in a song, which had no particular tune, nor did the students collectively decide upon one.
" Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or Young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling with some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn till our brains rot.
Whilst the Ravenclaw table kept it upbeat, some members of Gryffindor sung it low and slow, dragging out the last line for at least thirty seconds. Dumbledore sung with them, clapping excitedly once they'd come to a stop. "Wasn't that lovely! Now, off to bed you trot!"
Darren led the new students through the twisting castle corridors and up to Ravenclaw tower, where he showed them how to get into their common room. A bronze eagle knocker was fastened to the door, and once Darren approached it, a musical voice flitted through the spiral staircase on which they were standing.
"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?" The eagle singsonged.
"A circle has no beginning," Darren replied.
The eagle bowed its head before the door swung open to reveal a circular, carpeted room. Tall bookshelves line the walls, which stretched up indefinitely, into the ceiling that was bewitched similarly to that of the Great Hall, reflecting the starred carpet on which Alaris stood. Wide, rounded windows were set into the bookcase, and framed by blue and bronze silks, providing what would have been a spectacular view in daylight. A crackling fire lit the blue couches that were positioned around the common area. Darren directed the first years towards a marble bust, behind which were the stairs up to the dormitories.
Chelsea, Beatrice, and Alaris all filed into one dorm. There were five four-poster beds, draped in layers of blue and purple tulle and concealed by more house-colored silks. The domed ceiling of the dormitory was like the one in the common room: starry and twinkling.
The light from these stars and the bright moon that shone through the dormitory window was what Alaris used to navigate her trunk. She reached around some extra robes and clothes until she found her journal. Her parents had suggested that she document her time at school, and Alaris felt it was the closest thing that she had to someone who she could talk to. Chelsea and Beatrice seemed nice, but she would have to get to know them more before she would be able to talk to them as freely as she could write her thoughts. Her other two dormmates, Georgia and Vanellope, were sleeping with their blanket pulled up to their chins. Their soft snores were drowned out by the whistling wind that hummed outside the tower.
Alaris laid on her stomach, opening the journal to its first page. She wrote her name and House on the inner cover incase she managed to misplace it in the maze that was Hogwarts Castle. She then pointed her attention to the blank page staring back at her in the pale light. In big bold letters she wrote I got sorted into Ravenclaw! Her handwriting became smaller as she scrawled further down the page.
There are some people here who don't seem to like muggle-borns very much. I met a very nice boy on the train, and the minute that he found out my parents are non-magical he became disgusted. I had no idea that these kinds of prejudices existed – let alone that I would have to face them here. And there are so many other things that I have to worry about, too! There are ghosts, as well as boats that row themselves, and talking hats! Who knows what I'll come across on my first day of classes. Maybe a quill that writes on its own, or a talking cat!
And Alaris sincerely hoped that she would not run into anyone else like Regulus Black.