I was really excited when I had gotten my Hogwarts letter on my eleventh birthday in June.
My parents had gone there, and so had my grandparents. Everybody in my family had gone to Hogwarts, and my cousin Theodore would be going with me.
I had heard all about the great school and the headmaster, I had heard all about the classes and professors, even the ghosts that haunt the halls.
I knew everything. So naturally, I was ecstatic when I got my letter.
"Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I say, reading the title one last time, a huge grin on my face.
"I'm so proud of you sweetheart!" My mum says, wrapping me up in a hug. "You'll have so much fun!"
"Especially with quidditch." My father says, giving me a wink.
"She will do no such thing!" My mother scolds him, giving him a small glare. "That sport is way too dangerous. Do you know how many people have gotten concussions and brain damage from that bloody game?!"
I snicker at her concern, getting out of her hold. "I won't play, but I will be at every game. It seems interesting." I say with a shrug.
My father smirks at my mother and she playfully rolls her eyes.
"Besides," I say. "I'm more concerned about which house I'll be sorted into.. my roommates .. and the classes-"
"You'll do great Rene'," Mum says. "Don't stress too much. And Theo will be there Incase you get into any trouble." She reassures with a smile, rustling my hair.
I smile up at her, wondering about what Hogwarts would actually be like.
_____
my room was dim, the only thing lighting it was the light from my wand. I wanted to practice some of the basic spells before I started school. I had been waiting my whole life for this, and I really wanted to pass my classes.
"What was it again...?" I mutter to myself, making sure not to make too much noise, the walls being thin. "Expelliarmus." I mutter, pointing it at a stuffed rabbit that held a quill.
The quill flies into my hand, making me smile. "I'll be the best student at Hogwarts."
I hear footsteps coming up the stairs, causing me to scurry to my bed, pulling the covers over my head and curling up in a ball.
The door opens and I see my mother's silhouette, a candle in her hand.
She shakes her head with a small chuckle, crouching down in front of my bed and picking up the wand that I had left on the floor, along with the stuffed rabbit and quill. She comes over to the bed, pulling the cover back and rubbing my hair, placing a kiss on my head, and then fixing my blankets a little so they cover my whole body.
"I love you, Rene'." She whispers against my head, then leaves the room.
_____
My mother had told me about the trip to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts express, and while it sounded amazing, I wasn't as intrigued by it, not until I actually saw it.
It was painted both black and red, witches and wizards climbing onto it and waving a 'good-bye' to their parents.
I studied the way the sunlight would shine off of the train, and the way that the smoke would come out of the top.
The train chooed as a final 5-minute warning before take-off.
I hug my parents and then hop onto the train, bringing my trunk and owl along with me.
I sigh as I get on, looking down the slim hallway to figure out which compartment I'd sit in.
I was without my parents for the first time in my life. Finally by myself... well... sorta.
"Rene'!" I hear Theo's voice. I look up, seeing him sticking his head out of a compartment, waving to me.
I smile and walk over, stepping inside and getting tackled with a hug by him. He'd always been pretty affectionate, despite coming from a not-so-affectionate family. "Are you excited?!" He asks, a dorky smile on his face.
I nod. "I've been counting down the days since I got my letter-"
I hear a scoff. "What a nerd."
I furrow my eyebrows and look over, seeing a platinum blonde-haired boy. I automatically thought of the white-haired rabbit from Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. It was a muggle book that my mother used to read me before bed, now I have it on a little shelf in my room. It's one of the very few muggle things that I have, I fell in love with it. Wondering how weird the muggle world must be if they were able to tell a story like that.
"I'm sorry." I state, snapping out of my thoughts. "Who are you?"
The blonde boy seems taken aback, offended by my question. "I'm Draco Malfoy. Son of Lucius Malfoy." He says.
"Oh. Your father works for my father in the ministry. Octavius Eastwood." I say, seeing the blonde boy avert his eyes, looking down.
"My apologies." He mutters, making me smirk.
I take a seat next to Theodore, pulling out a journal, starting to draw the Hogwarts Express like how I remembered it. Mum wanted me to tell her about Hogwarts, she gave me a little journal to do so, and I would write her, but I also wanted to give her some pictures of everything I saw.
Drawing was one of the things I enjoyed doing most, my grandfather would always give me journals whenever he came over, and my grandmother would provide me with quills, some having special ink other than black.
I had what seemed like a million drawings hanging on the walls of my room from over the years, and hundreds of journals filled back to back with such drawings.
Mum would draw with me too sometimes, and father would give us things to draw, mainly quidditch related.
He loved quidditch, and would always tell me stories of how good he was when he went to Hogwarts. He and Mum met during a quidditch game, he was flying by, going after the ball, and he saw mum there with a huge smile on her face and her short brown hair curled.
He was too busy watching her that he fell off of his broom, and had to get sent to the nurse. Mum went to go check on him after the game, and there he asked her on a date in Hogsmeade, and the rest was history.
I could never really decide if the story was romantic or weird and cheesy, but my parents seemed happy and I always wanted to find love like theirs.
The way that they would look at each other or smile at each other made my heart warm up, they were truly in love.
"So, what are you most excited for?" Theodore asks, looking at the drawing of the train with awe.
"Probably-"
"Quidditch. Most definitely." The blonde boy sitting across from us says, interrupting me.
Theodore looks at him and rolls his eyes, then looks at me straight in my eyes, indicating to the blonde that we did not want to speak to him.
"Rene'?" He asks again, giving me his full attention.
I think for a second, humming and then smiling when I think of it. "Herbology. Mum told me stories of the class, it seems fun."
"Boring." The blonde mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Excuse me?" I state, raising an eyebrow.
"How boring can a person be?" He asks bluntly, "You're a bore. I can only imagine how bad your mother must be."
I shake my head, returning to the sketch of the train, not giving the boy any more of my time.
My family and I had a word for people like him. Brat.
"I'm most excited for the food," Theodore says, sighing after and licking his lips. "I've heard that it's delicious and grand."
I giggle, nodding.
"That too." I say, smiling at my cousin.
"I heard that Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts this year." Theo states. I raise an eyebrow and then look at the blonde, seeing his face lighting up.
"You mean the boy from the old folktale mum used to tell us?" I ask.
"Apparently so." Theodore nods, "Scar and everything."
I hum. "Interesting."
____
The train stopped, indicating that we had arrived. I look out of the window, seeing a tall man with a bushy beard standing outside holding a lantern.
"He's giant-" I mutter in awe, the blonde boy coming beside me and scoffing.
"Just some silly old oaf. Rubeus Hagrid is his name." He says, wearing a proud smirk, "My father's told me all about him. It's embarrassing enough that he's even allowed on the school grounds-"
I shut him up by simply walking away, not wanting to listen to any more of his nagging.
I join the group of first years that were gathered around the tall man, Theo behind me.
"First years over here!" The man yells, holding the lantern and looking at all of us with a smile on his face. "Follow me."
We all follow him down the path through Hogsmeade and then to the school, most kids exclaiming in amazement. I didn't blame them, the school did look magical.
The man leads us to some boats, getting on one with a group of kids, the rest of us getting on the others.
The blonde boy joined Theo and I, complaining about how unprofessional it was, then proceeded to whine when I handed him an ore and made him help Theo row the boat.
"This is completely ridiculous!" He whined. "I shouldn't have to do this. This is a school for witchcraft and wizardry, shouldn't they have a spell on these things to make them row themselves?! Unprofessional for a school that claims to be the best-"
"Will you shut up already?!" I yell at him. "You're giving me a headache."
He opens his mouth as if to say something, then shuts it, staying quiet for the rest of the ride.
Hagrid leads us into the castle where we then see a woman with a big hat and green robes. "Welcome to Hogwarts." She says, a smile on her face, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your houses. There are; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." She states. I look over and see Malfoy smirking at the two boys that had started following him around. "While you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts." She informs us.
"Trevor!" a boy with brown hair yells, running up and grabbing a toad, interrupting the lady's speech. I hear Malfoy and his followers snicker, making me roll my eyes and send them a glare. "Sorry." The brown-haired boy mutters, walking back to his place.
"The sorting ceremony will start momentarily." The woman says, turning on her heel and walking through the doors.
"It's true then?" Malfoy exclaims a smirk on his face, making me instantly roll my eyes and cross my arms, looking at Theodore. "What they're saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."
Kids start murmuring, looking around the room at each other trying to figure out who Harry Potter was. I had heard the legends of the boy who lived, everyone in the wizarding world had. If he was going to school with me... then maybe school was going to be more thrilling than I originally thought.
"This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle," Malfoy says. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." He says, standing directly in front of the boy with brown hair and glasses now.
The red-headed boy standing next to Harry snickers, making Malfoy's attention snap to him. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask you yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down robe." Malfoy sneers. "You must be a Weasley."
The boy looks down, the smile wiped from his face, my anger growing at the spoiled boy who thought he owned the ground everyone walked on.
"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." Draco says, holding out his hand, "I can help you there."
"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks." Harry says, not shaking the blonde's hand. I couldn't help but smile at that.
The lady comes back out and taps Malfoy on the shoulder with a scroll, silently telling him to go back to his place.
"We're ready for you know, follow me." She says, leading us into the great hall.
I stare up at the ceiling, candles were floating to light the room and you could see the night sky, some shooting stars passing by.
"It's just a simple spell. It's charmed to be that way, it isn't actually like that." A girl says. I look at Theodore, giving him a look as to signify that most of these kids were giving me a headache. He chuckles and then nudges me with his shoulder, making me look ahead to see the lady on a platform, a stool beside her, and a scroll and hat in her hand.
"When I call your name, step up to be sorted into your houses." She states, then opens the scroll, reading off the first name.
"Rene' Eastwood." The woman calls my name after a while, making me jump a little. Theodore squeezes my hand, giving me a small smile and then softly pushing me ahead.
I glare at him and then make my way to the stool, sitting down and trying to steady my breath.
I hated all of the faces staring at me, so I closed my eyes.
I could feel something be placed on my head, and then a loud voice booming through my head, making my eardrums ring slightly.
"Ah, another Eastwood." The deep voice says. "Something tells me you'll be playing quidditch." It says again, making the woman next to me snicker. "Let's see... you're blunt but kind, honest, loyal. You're courageous... maybe Gryffindor?" The deep voice states, trying to figure me out, "I also since a rebellious side to you that has yet to be unlocked. You're sly as well as sneaky, and ambitious. Clever, you know how to get yourself out of danger or trouble come the time. But something special... something I can't quite figure out..." The deep voice stops for a moment or two, thinking. "Slytherin!"
The Slytherin table claps and cheers, smiles on some of their faces, some waving, and others giving me a simple nod of acknowledgment.
I make my way to the table, taking a seat next to a brown-haired girl.
I wait, looking around at all of the faces until a certain name catches my attention.
"Harry Potter." The woman says, the same brown-haired boy and glasses stepping up and taking his spot on the stool before him.
So it actually was him.
I turn to Theodore and he gives me a smirk, signifying 'I told you so'. I roll my eyes, silently telling him to shut up.
We were good at reading each other's expressions, being each other's best friends since I can remember. He had always been mine and I had always been his and I was forever grateful for it. We both needed someone to be there when no one else could understand, and that's what we were for each other.
"Gryffindor!" The sorting hat yelled, the Gryffindor table clapping and cheering, happy to have the chosen one in their house.
"Draco Malfoy." The woman calls after some time. The obnoxious boy steps up with a smirk on his face, the hat not even touching his head before it yelled out Slytherin.
I roll my eyes and quietly groan, laying my head on the table and everyone else claps.
"Theodore Nott." The woman, who I learned as McGonagall called out.
Theo walks up to her and takes a seat.
"Ah, Nott." The hat says. Theodore smiles and straightens his posture. "Kind, loyal, overprotecting, and loving. You're also ambitious, cunning, sly, and determined. Seems as if you want to prove people wrong. Slytherin!" The hat yells.
I stand up and yell, clapping for my cousin as he comes down and sits next to me.
The Headmaster stands tall, looking down at all of the smiling faces, putting his hands behind his back, and smiling warmly. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" He says, holding his hands out as if welcoming us all with an open hug, "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words." He states, telling everyone how the dark forest was forbidden to first years, and other announcements.
He soon dismisses us to eat, food filling the table and everyone quickly filling their plates with the various varieties.
"Hogwarts doesn't disappoint." Theo says with a huge grin, scooping up some peas and then shoving them into his mouth.
I smile and take a bite of my roll, looking over at the Blonde boy from earlier, seeing him look at me, and then quickly look away, taking a bit out of his lamb chop.
"I'm Tracey, Tracey Davis." The brunette girl next to me says, holding out her hand.
"Rene' Eastwood." I say, shaking her hand.
"That's a nice name." She smiles, "Your father's Octavious Eastwood, right?" She asks. I nod and she smiles wider, her rosy cheeks expanding. "My father works with him, they're very good friends. I've always waited to meet you!"
I smile back, then feel Theodore lean forward. "I'm Theodore Nott." He states, smiling and waving to the girl.
"I know." She smiles, then clears her throat. "Well I'm looking forward to it Rene', maybe we could be friends?"
"Sure." I nod, making her smile before she turns back to her dinner.
_____________
This chapter is kinda boring- but it's just the first chapter
anyways... sooooo what do we think? :p
I'm actually pretty excited to write this book, one of my first slow burns! (while writing this... which is July 24th, 2022, most likely won't be when you're reading this and when I publish it-)
But I do have a few slow burns coming out/that have come out so that's fun, figured I'd give it a try lol
I hope you enjoyed it so far and that you continue to enjoy, the slow burns are definitely my favorite because of the character development and you also got to put more detail and work more on characters and stuff... idk, just seems more peaceful cause you don't really have to rush the relationship or ruin stuff with smut too soon
which I hope I don't do that in my other books-
anyway, that's all have a good day and enjoy the rest if you continue to read!
- London Avery <3
~ Word Count ~
3165