The boats soared over the inky black water effortlessly. The stars and half-moon shimmered down on the lake, allowing their beauty to be mirrored by the blackness. Saros gazed into the water, leaning back against the lamp post with his arms folded over his stomach. Draco was sat up straight on the other end of the boat, gripping the sides like he would fall through the bottom if he let go. Blaise was nestled on the bench between them, leaning on the side and allowing his fingers to brush against the water.
"Blaise, stop it." Draco said, staring at the boy wearily.
"What's the matter Dray, scared?" Blaise mused, looking up at the blonde with an amused grin.
Draco glowered at him, "No, of course not! I just don't want to get soaked!" He snapped.
Blaise grinned mockingly at him, but he obediently sat up. Saros allowed himself an amused grin, though he still didn't look up from the water. What could be down there? What could the curtain of ink be hiding? Curiosity irked the boy, and he reached his hand out to touch the water. Saros retracted his hand. Another time.
"What lesson are you most excited for, Dray?" Blaise asked, turning to the blond.
Draco looked at him, his grip still tight on the boat.
"Potions." He said.
Blaise grinned, "Transfiguration," He said, before turning to Saros, "What about you?"
"All of it," Saros said, finally turning his attention to his friends, "I'm excited for all of it."
Draco chuckled, "Of course you are."
Saros grinned at his elder cousin. Draco grinned back. Saros turned his attention to the building behind him. He hugged the wooden beam he was once leaning on and rested his cheek against it. He gazed up at the beautiful castle that loomed over them. The golden swirl encrusted in his eye shone dimly, casting the dark water around him in a small luminescence.
The boats slumped against the bank one by one, kicking up the soil as they forced themselves out of the water. Saros rose to his feet when the boats fully stopped, and stuck out a hand to help Blaise and Draco. They accepted his hand gratefully, and allowed themselves to be guided onto the bank. Pansy, Greg and Vince moved over to them, and they all turned to watch Theo's boat to approach. Theo's boat was the last one to depart, and he looked bored, slumping against the wooden beam at the back of the boat like a drunken man. When the boat perched intself on the bank, Theo clambered out and practically threw himself at his friends.
"How could you just leave me like that?" He whined.
Saros shrugged, "There's seven of us, Theo. You just have act faster."
Theo frowned at him. Saros shot him a grin, and slung an arm around his shoulders.
"C'mon," He said, "Let's get to the castle and see what houses we're gonna be in!"
A grin crept up on Theo's face, and he nodded. Saros pulled away and moved to follow the crowd of first years that had already set off towards the castle. His friends followed him closely, and Blaise and Theo continued their bet in a hushed whisper, snickering and grinning to themselves as they pointed at the other children.
By the time the first years reached the castle doors, they were exhausted from their long journey, but they were still buzzing with excitement. Saros was beaming as he looked up at the castle in wonder. His eyes wandered over the stone knights that nestled in the nooks and of the upper walls by the entrance. They bore weapons, and they watched as the first years passed down below them. Saros shot them a welcoming grin, and the stone warriors inclined their heads politely. Saros' smile widened, and he gave a curt nod. Saros continued on through the castle, easily overtaking his peers as they slowed to a crawl to admire the different rows of armour or the sentient portraits. Draco and the others quickly followed him, not wanting to be seperated from the boy. The giant man hung at the back of the group, ushing the children up the stairs and making sure they didn't wander off.
At the top of the stairs stood a large set of double doors. The doors were huge; ten times bigger than the doors on the Black Family Manour. The tall man with the bushy beard carefully wove his way to the front of the group, grunting 's'cuse me's, and the occasional apology when he trodded on a student's foot. He made it to the top of the stairs, and Theo leapt into Blaise's arms in order to not get trodded on. Once the man had past, Blaise set Theo down carefully, bearing an extremely amused grin. The man moved over to the large double doors and pouded his huge boulder-like fist against it. The door opened a crack, to reveal a woman.
The woman's dark, slightly greying hair was tied back into a tight bun, which was hidden underneath a pitch black witches hat. Two long owl feathers stuck out from the brim, wilting slightly in a strangely graceful way. She was wearing black robes, with a gleaming gold clasp over the collar. Over the robes she was wearing a green cloak that had large, sagging sleeves that hung down to her feet with the brim of her robes. The woman's face was carved with the lines of age, and her lips were pulled into a thin line. She looked stern, and dangerous to cross. Saros doubted that even Fenrir would dare to cross the woman if they were to meet. The woman's stern gaze landed on Saros, and they widened a fraction. Saros offered her a small polite smile, but that only seemed to unnerve her more. She looked away, and Saros' smile was quickly replaced with a confused arch of his brow. Saros glanced at Draco, who was shooting her a similar expression. The woman looked over at the sea of students, who had silenced their chatter upon seeing her.
"The firs' years, professor McGonagall." The tall man said.
The woman - McGonagall - smiled patiently.
"Thank you, Hagrid." She said.
Hagrid descended the steps, and he moved over to the forest surrounding the castle grounds. Saros gazed after him curiously. Something gazed out of the woods. Something big, with narrowed golden eyes. Saros' eyes widened slightly. McGonagall disappeared inside the door, before it was tugged open wide. McGonagall stepped back, allowing the children to step into the entrance hall.
The entrance hall was huge, big enough to fit an entire house with ease. The walls were high, so high Saros couldn't see the ceiling properly. Suits of armour stood in a line either side of the walls, their hands resting on the handles of their swords. A large set of stairs stood proudly in the back of the room. The walls were lined with portraits of all sizes, each bearing a witch or wizard lost to time. Most of them were old, but some looked young, twenty at least. They each looked at the students curiously, whispering to each other and occasionally pointing at them with their wands or fingers. Saros quirked an eyebrow at them. What could they be talking about? The boy turned his attention back to McGonagall, while some of the other students gaped and gawked at the portraits.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall called, earning the attention of all of the first years, "The banquet will begin shortly, however, 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 like your family within Hogwarts."
Saros and Draco grinned at each other, before turning the grin to their friends.
"You will have classes with the rest of your house," McGonagall continued, "Sleep in your dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."
McGonagall glanced around the group, "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 rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. 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 onto a child in the crowd, before she turned and disappeared into the set of double doors on the right.
Excited whispers and muttering filled the space. Saros turned to Draco, who started to straighten out the ravenette's tie. Saros reached up and straightened the blond's collar. Pansy helped Greg straighten out his robes, and Blaise tried to help Theo neaten out his messy hair, despite the boy's protests. Saros and Draco snickered to each other as they watched Theo swat Blaise's hands away. Eventually, Theo gave in, and begrudingly let Blaise straighten his hair out.
Something landed on Saros' foot, and the boy looked down. A small toad was sat squat on his foot, gazing up at him with wide watery eyes. The toad let out a low ribbit, and bent to scoop it up.
"Hello there," Saros greeted, "You belong to that kid that girl mentioned, aren't you?"
The toad ribbited again, lying slump in the boy's hold. The toad looked comfortable cupped in Saros' arms, completely care-free and relaxed. Saros turned to his friends.
"Hey," He called, "I found that toad that girl was talking about."
Pansy and Draco looked slightly unnerved, while the other boys gathered around Saros.
"We'll help you look," Blaise offered, running the back of his finger over the toad's back, "We can't keep ahold of the toad througout the entire ceremony."
Saros nodded curtly. The boy turned and faced the crowd, scanning the faces for that bushy-haired girl. Blaise stood beside him, while Greg, Theo and Vince moved to wander the crowd. Eventually, Blaise found the bushy-haired girl. She was talking to a boy with firery red hair and a boy with straight black hair. Blaise and Saros glanced at each other. They wove their way through the crowded children, shooting 'excuse me's every couple of seconds.
Eventually, the duo made it to the trio. The bushy-haired girl quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Yes?" She asked.
Saros held up the toad, "I believe you were lookin' for this."
"Trevor!" The black-haired boy said excitedly, plucking the toad from Saros' arms, "Where did you find him?"
"On my shoe." Saros replied.
"Thank you." The boy said politely.
Saros gave him a curt nod, and he and Blaise turned to leave.
"You're a Tenebris, aren't you?"
Saros turned at the name. The red haired boy looked at him expectantly, his arms folded over his chest. Anger pooled in Saros' stomach, and his eyes narrowed. Blaise took ahold of Saros' arm.
"Well? Aren't you?" The boy asked again, quirking his eyebrow, "You have that swirl on your eye, you gotta be a Tenebris."
"It's none of your business." Saros hissed.
"Touchy, are we?" The boy grinned mockingly.
Saros' fists clenched.
"Leave it, Sar," Blaise whispered in Saros' ear, "He's not worth it."
The boy pulled Saros back through the crowd and over to the others, who were all bearing worried expressions. Saros ripped his arm from Blaise's hold and moved over to stand by Draco.
"What happened?"
"He mentioned-"
McGonagall returned. She moved over to the front of the crowd, looking stern.
"Move along now," She said, "The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin."
Saros spared a glare at the redhead over his shoulder, and followed McGonagall into the Great Hall.