Chapter Three : Way to Hogwarts
———
[(Y/N)'s Point of View]
My last fortnight in Camp Half-Blood was enjoyably sad. Annabeth, Luke, and Will kept nagging me about this new school I have to attend, but of course, I never told them.
Professor McGonagall told me not to tell anyone, at least, not yet. She said that it wasn't safe to tell other people about Hogwarts and its location. She also told me not to do magic using the wand I bought outside school if I was not yet seventeen. So, basically, I hid all my school stuff from my cabin mates to avoid suspicions. She also told me the way to board the Hogwarts Express (it was the train that we had to use to go to Hogwarts).
Today, I was ready to leave the camp I lived for six years.
Breakfast on September 1 was unusually gloomy. Will said that it was because the sunshine camper of Camp Half-Blood would leave the year-rounder phase and have to leave for ten months. I was overwhelmed when I heard that. I never knew that I affected the whole camp just by leaving.
"I'll be back next summer." I kept on promising them as I walked towards the Big House to say my goodbyes to Mr. D (even though I didn't want to). "Ten months isn't that long. I'll be back home soon."
"Just—just be careful, okay?" Will said again. "Don't forget to Iris-message us. You have enough drachmas, right?"
"I have, Will," I said again.
"Remember to—"
But he didn't have time to nag on me again when we finally reached the Big House. Mr. D was standing beside his chair, seemingly hoping for me to turn up.
"Ah, here comes the leaving brat," he said.
"Thank you, Mr. D," I said warily.
Mr. D rolled his eyes and tossed me a heavy-looking bag. Oh, scratch that. It was heavy.
"Additional drachmas," he said. "Your father asked me to give that to you... There's a surprise too. I don't know what was that but your father specifically told me to see it yourself."
"Thanks, Mr. D," I said, now sounding really appreciative.
"Meh," said Mr. D and sat down again.
"I'll get going, then," I said. "Bye, Mr. D. See you again."
"Don't ever be back."
"I'll probably be back in Christmas break, thanks Mr. D," I said, hiding a smile.
"I said don't ever come back."
"I'll miss you too, Mr. D."
Mr. D glared at me but I was too happy to glare back. I meekly smiled at him and waved merrily. At least, I would have something to look forward to... being back here for Christmas break. Professor McGonagall told me that we have the opportunity to go out of Hogwarts every Christmas and Easter break. I would take that opportunity to be back home.
Will and Annabeth walked with me towards the hill to Thalia's tree, and both kept reminding me of stuff to do.
Chiron was waiting for us on the hill's boundary where the protective barrier was placed.
"Hey, Chiron." I greeted.
Chiron smiled.
"Ready?" he asked.
"I think so," I said.
"You will be fine, kid," he said. "Professor McGonagall assured us of your safety inside your school. No monster will come at you."
"What school is this?" Will asked, hopeful to finally have the answer.
Chiron turned to him.
"No answer for you, kid."
Will groaned.
I remained silent for a moment, taking this second to feel Camp Half-Blood's presence before I left.
"(Y/N)!"
I turned to see Luke running up in our direction with a sword in his hand. He looked definitely worn with his messy hair and sweaty face.
I saw from the corner of my eyes that Annabeth blushed.
"Hey, glad I still caught you up." he panted. "Can I have a moment?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," I said.
He pulled me away from Chiron, Will, and Annabeth, and stopped behind a small bushy tree.
"What is it?"
"I want to give you my birthday gift. It's kind of late, I know, but still," he said and handed me the sword. The blade shone as it hit the light from above. "It's like Backbiter. Tempered steel and celestial bronze but a little too slim in steel. But, hey, this little baby can still kill mortals, demigods, and immortals alike, so be careful with it."
"Wow," I said, examining the hilt and the shining blade. "Does this have a name?"
"I haven't thought of any," Luke said. "You can think about it since it's yours now."
"Zoirá," I muttered. "Her name's Zoirá."
He smiled.
"Zoirá. Bright. The sword of the sunshine camper of Camp Half-Blood," he said.
"Oh, shut up," I said, hitting him slightly with the hilt of the sword. "Thanks for this, Luke."
"You're welcome," said Luke, patting my head.
I should have felt annoyed by it, but not when it was Luke who had done it.
I placed Zoirá on my bracelet, which was full of my weapons (bow and arrows from my father, dagger from Will, and now, the sword from Luke), a few drachmas, a large amount of ambrosia, and nectar, a set of healing kit, and some pictures that I knew I had to take with me or else, I would regret it.
"Now, remember to IM me, okay?" he said as we walked back to Chiron. "I'll see you soon."
He hugged me tightly. Will and Annabeth joined the hug too until I couldn't breathe.
"I'll see you at Christmas," I said, waving at them.
"See you, (Y/N)."
"We'll miss you!"
"Take care!"
I smiled before trudging down to the car on the road where Argus, a hundred-eyed monster, the camp's head security, and my trunk were waiting.
Before I entered the car, I looked back at my friends again and waved.
They waved back.
I filled inside the car as Argus began driving. For once, I didn't know what to feel. I had to leave the place that I had called home for a few months.
Instead of reflecting on the sad thoughts, I pulled on the bag Mr. D gave me and opened it.
It was full of golden drachmas, but there was something else in there. I pulled it out and let out a small gasp.
It was a picture. But it wasn't just a picture. It was a picture of my mother. I knew that it was my mother because we had the same color of hair: brown. She was with my father, whose eyes were the same as mine: clear blue. They were both smiling and happily posing for the camera.
"Thank you, Father," I mumbled, putting the picture on my bracelet. He really listened to my prayers.
I looked out the window, feeling a bit lighter than I had a minute ago.
———
After Argus placed my trunk on a trolley of King's Cross, I pushed my way through the barriers and frantic people while holding my ticket to Hogwarts Express.
Professor McGonagall told me that I have to look for the brick wall of platforms nine and ten. I have to run into the wall to find the train to Hogwarts.
I kept on looking around to find that wall.
Five... six... seven... eight...
There!
Nine and Ten!
I stood in front of it, staring at the solid wall. How sure I would be that I could go through this wall? It looked so solid and hard. I might as well run over it and injure myself.
I was so preoccupied for a moment that I didn't notice the family bustling behind me. I only got back to reality when someone held my shoulder.
"Di immortales!" I yelled, jumping away from the owner of the hand.
I turned only to see a woman of the same height as me. She wore a bonnet but I could clearly see the red strands of her hair. She was smiling at me.
"Going to Hogwarts, dear?" she asked kindly.
She was too kind to my taste. She might be a monster or something. Chiron and Professor McGonagall only said that I was safe inside any magical place that involves Hogwarts and nothing else, and King's Cross was not part of it.
"Uh, yeah," I said carefully.
"Need help?" she asked again.
I shook my head, looking around. That was the only moment I realized that five pairs of brown eyes were watching me and the woman, four boys, and one girl, all of whom had red hair.
"Uhm, no, I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head again as I took another step back. "Thank you. I-I can do it myself."
I turned around immediately even before she could say something.
"Dad, help me," I mumbled to myself before pushing my trolley towards the wall. "Please."
I began having my momentum. I placed my energy into pushing my trolley until I was near the wall. A little more... another... and—
Whoosh!
I felt myself being engulfed by darkness. I shuddered for a minute until I got out of the wall. My mouth opened when I saw the new magical environment.
A large, beautiful train was parked on the railway. Its smoke billowed prettily around the place, almost obscuring my sight. Hundreds of families were rushing back and forth on the train to give their children's forgotten things and give their farewells. Some of them were crying while some only proudly waved.
I wished Annabeth, Will, and Luke were here.
I pushed my trolley again and found one staff approaching me. He smiled and took hold of my trolley. I let him steer my trunk away. I could sense that he was trustworthy because a few of the Hogwarts Express staff were doing the same thing.
I didn't want to stay there. My ADHD didn't want to allow it.
I entered Hogwarts Express. A lot of older students walked and ran past me as I looked for an empty compartment.
Finally, after a few more confused stalking, I found a compartment that occupied only one person. It was a boy with black hair. He was wearing a circular eyeglass and his clothes were obviously not his because of their size with his body.
"Uhm..." I said, knocking on the door of the compartment.
The boy looked over in my direction and I was a bit startled to see that his eyes were green. For a glorious minute, I thought he was a son of Poseidon with his eyes, but I didn't think about it much.
"Can I sit there?" I asked, pointing at the space beside him.
"Sure." he nodded and scooted to give me space.
"Thanks," I muttered as I closed the door.
I sat down beside him, feeling a bit awkward.
My ADHD was kicking again. Maybe I could introduce myself?
"Uhm." I cleared my throat. "I'm (Y/N) (L/N)."
I offered my hand.
"Harry." said the boy. "Harry Potter."
We shook hands. His hands felt so warm and soft.
"You're new here?" I asked.
He nodded and hummed.
"Me too!" I said, beaming out. "You know, I had no idea that there's another magical place in the country. I thought—"
I stopped. I suddenly realized that I shouldn't have said anything that was connected to my other world: Camp Half-Blood. Chiron and Mr. D said so.
But I didn't have to worry about Harry's reaction when a knock interrupted us.
We both turned towards the door and saw one of the red-heads from King's Cross.
"Do you mind?" he asked. "Everywhere else is full."
"No, not at all." Harry and I both said.
He smiled and sat opposite us.
"I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley." he introduced himself.
"(Y/N) (L/N)."
"You're the one in King's Cross a while ago," Ron said.
"I might be," I said.
"I'm Harry Potter."
Ron gasped.
"Was it true, then?" he asked. "You have the—the—"
He looked like he didn't know what words to say as he gestured something in the air.
"The what?" I asked.
"The scar," Ron whispered dramatically.
"Oh," said Harry, pulling his bangs up to show the scar on his forehead.
I stared at it. It had a shape like a lightning.
"Did Zeus punish you or something?" I asked unconsciously.
"Who?" Harry and Ron questioned.
"Huh? I mean—no, nothing." I said, shaking my head. "Nevermind. I mean—it's cool."
Harry stared at me while Ron gasped again.
"You don't know anything about Harry Potter, do you?" he asked.
"What?" I looked at Harry. "He's Harry Potter. What do you mean?"
"I mean—you don't know about You-Know-Who and Harry?"
"Who?"
"Voldemort," Harry said, making me, even more, confused and Ron gasped even more.
"I'm really sorry, but who?"
Harry began talking about the past that he remembered. This Voldemort, a dark wizard who turned evil, killed his parents and tried to kill him too, but Voldemort was unsuccessful which was why he, Harry, had the lightning scar on his forehead. It was a sign that Voldemort tried to kill him. Then Voldemort died on that same night.
Voldemort... the darkest wizard in the world... He's the one Professor McGonagall had mentioned. He was the reason why my mum died. He and his followers.
"Voldemort," I mumbled after Harry's storytelling. "That's his name."
Ron shuddered.
"Please call him You-Know-Who." he interrupted but I ignored him.
"Voldemort was the reason why my mum died," I said. "Him and his followers. The first Wizarding War."
"What do you know about the first Wizarding War?" Ron asked.
I looked up.
"Nothing," I said. "I just knew that my mum died in that war. Since then, I have been an orphan. Not until... my father got me out."
"How about your Muggle relatives, Harry?" Ron said.
I blinked. Did I hear that right?
"Muggle?"
"Non-magic people," said Ron.
"Oh, like mortals." I blurted.
"Huh?"
I blinked again.
"Nothing," I said. "So, how's your—er—Muggle relatives, Harry?"
"Well, they're—erm—horrible," Harry admitted.
Throughout the train ride, Harry kept telling us stories about his childhood in the Dursleys. I couldn't believe that there were still people like that who couldn't accept differences.
I mean—Harry was kind and all but it was just his luck to be stuck with people like the Dursleys.
As the train slithered under the noon sky, Harry, Ron, and I shifted our topics to Ron's family. I learned that he has six other siblings and that I had seen four of them and there were two who were working abroad.
"How about you, (Y/N)?" Harry asked. "You said that you got out of the orphanage because of your dad."
"Oh," I said. I didn't know what to say. "Well—"
I couldn't finish my words, thank the gods, when there was a rattling sound outside our compartment and a woman pushing a trolley peeked at the door, saying;
"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
I stood up from my seat, and so did Harry, but Ron remained sitting, saying that he was all set while lifting a poor-looking sandwich.
Despite knowing that I should look over my sweet tooth because of my ADHD, I still bought almost everything that was in the trolley. Harry and I dumped our food on the seat between us and offered Ron some. He refused at first but he eventually fit in after a few persuasion.
"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?"
I stared at the pack he was holding. It looked like it was just frog-shaped chocolate but I had a feeling that it wasn't normal.
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."
"What?"
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know—Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect—famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."
I watched as Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card.
"So this is Dumbledore," he said suddenly.
"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa—thanks—"
"Can I see, Harry?" I said, leaning closer to see the card.
It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses and had a long, crooked nose, flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.
Harry turned over the card and read:
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his and my astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.
"He's gone!" I exclaimed.
"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back, though. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her... do you want it? You can start collecting."
Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.
"Help yourself," I said.
"Yeah," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."
"It's cool though," I said, unwrapping my own Chocolate Frog.
"Really? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"
I began opening pack after pack of Chocolate Frogs until I came up with a few Famous Witches and Wizards cards. When I had devoured almost all, I began examining a box of colorful beans: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor—you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."
Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.
"Bleaaargh—see? Sprouts."
"Are you serious?" I asked.
"More than serious," said Ron, spitting the green bean.
I could say that we had a great time eating the Every Flavor Beans. At first, I got lucky to get toast, coconut, baked beans, strawberries, and coffee, but I was so unlucky to get a pepper-flavored one that Ron didn't want to touch.
The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.
We were just talking about how our classes would go at Hogwarts when we were interrupted by a knock on the door.
A round-face boy came in. He looked extremely tearful for some reason that I didn't know about.
"Sorry," he said. "But have you seen a toad at all?"
I shook my head, and so did Harry and Ron.
The boy suddenly wailed.
"I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"
"He'll turn up," Harry said.
I felt like I had to say something consoling but I was beaten up when the boy spoke again. Ah, well, I think I was not allowed to speak at all.
"Yes." said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."
He left.
"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."
"Scabbers?" I asked.
"Yeah. It's my pet rat."
"Rat?"
Ron patted the snoozing rat on his lap.
I let out a terrified yelp when I saw the rat. Why does he have a rat as a pet?
"Why? Are you scared of rats?" Harry asked.
"I—" I muttered. "No! It's just... it's a rat. Why make it a pet? Does it do anything?"
"Oh," said Ron, looking down at his rat before looking up at me with a sheepish look. "You're right. He doesn't do much. He's just sleeping. He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference... I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."
He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.
I stared at it, wondering if it was working. I didn't speak out anything though. Besides, I really wanted to see some magic. The first and last magic that I had seen with a wand was Professor McGonagall's Temporary Sticking Charm.
I have never used my own wand in Camp Half-Blood for two reasons: because I didn't want anyone to question the new brand of magic I have and because Professor McGonagall said we weren't allowed to use our wands outside school.
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway—"
Ron had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again.
The toadless boy was back, but this time, he had a girl with him. I noticed that she was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said.
I raised my eyebrows. For some reason, she reminded me of Annabeth. Her voice was so bossy. She had a lot of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.
"Er—all right." He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. The rat stayed gray and fast asleep.
I heaved out a sigh. Thank the gods, nothing happened to the animal.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard—I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough—I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
I stared at her. How did she do that?
I looked at Harry and Ron. I was relieved to see by their stunned face that they hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. I mean, I had read our school books but it took me quite a while because of my dyslexia.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"(Y/N) (L/N)," I said.
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Huh?"
I was completely confused.
"Am I?" said Harry, looking dazed
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best. I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.
"Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell—George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."
"What House was she talking about?" I asked.
Was she talking about the house that we're going to live in? Like the cabins in Camp Half-Blood?
"Hogwarts Houses!" said Ron. "There are four Houses in Hogwarts. Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor."
"What House are your brothers in?" Harry asked Ron.
"Gryffindor." said Ron. He suddenly became sad. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
"That's the House Vol—, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"
"Yeah," said Ron.
"Why don't you use Voldemort's real name?" I asked.
"Because everyone's still afraid of his name, that's why."
"That doesn't make sense," I said, looking at Harry.
"Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either," he said.
"Just don't call him by his name," said Ron.
"Whatever," I mumbled.
Why would people get scared by the name of a dark wizard? He was not a god, after all. He was just a wizard who does magic with a wand. Not someone who can control the sky and make an earthquake if offended.
Harry brought up another topic of Ron's brothers. I learned that Charlie, their second-oldest, was studying dragons. I was utterly shocked at this. Really? Dragons? Like real dragons? Then their oldest, Bill, was working in Gringotts.
"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.
"What's Quidditch?" I asked back.
I needed to have additional space in my brain because there was a lot of information in this world.
"I don't know any," Harry said weakly.
"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world—"
And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money.
I was fascinated by the topic. Flying in broomstick! So, maybe this was the meaning of the broomstick in my school list. But, we were not allowed to have it yet. That was what the list said.
As the color of the sky slowly turned orange, we decided to change to our Hogwarts robes. I excused myself to change in the bathroom and left the two boys in the compartment. I walked through a lot of compartments with happy faces while going to the ladies bathroom.
I let out a sigh. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed.
This world was completely different from my other world, but I could say that the difference was sort of... exciting.
———
- 𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑔