I woke up falling, a second of stomach-twisting nothing following by a loud (and painful) thump. There was a smattering of hastily muffled laughter as I sat up groggily, forgetting for a moment where I was.
"You alright there, Phil?"
Several pairs of hands grabbed my arms and shoulders, pulling me to my feet. I blinked, rubbing sleep from my bleary eyes. Two boy's faces came into focus; one pale with a blonde cowlick and the other freckled with a mop of brown hair. It took me a moment to recognise them; Andy and Jacob, two of my fellow Hufflepuff first-years.
"Did... did I fall out of bed?" I asked, embarrassed, stumbling as I tried to kick the tangled bedsheets off my legs.
Jacob grinned, grabbing the sheets and unwinding them.
"Yeah, you did," Andy answered, leaning down to help, his mouth twitching as if he were about to burst out laughing. "Sorry, it was pretty funny."
"You alright?" Jacob asked again, chucking the sheets unceremoniously onto my bed.
"Yeah," I said with a rueful smile, "I'm good, thanks."
There was a knock at the dormitory door.
"It's Carlos here, can I come in?"
"Sure, come in!" Several voices called from across the dorm
I hurriedly straightened my sheets as the door creaked open and Carlos strolled in.
"Everyone awake?" Carlos asked, glancing around at all the beds.
"Phil's the last to wake up," Andy said, an impish grin still curving the corners of his mouth.
"Good, okay, we're heading down to breakfast in ten minutes," he announced, pointing at an old wooden clock hanging above the door. "If anyone needs help with their ties, I can tach you."
There was a chorus of "Okay"s and "Thank you"s as my dorm mates retreated behind curtains to change.
"Already dressed, Phil?" Carlos said in a quieter voice. "That was quick. I thought you were the last to wake up."
"Umm... I kind of fell asleep in my robes..." I said awkwardly.
Carlos chuckled. "That's very efficient of you. Do you need help with your tie?"
"Uh, yes please."
I picked up a tie from the bedside table and stared at it for a second, totally lost. held it out to Carlos.
"It's not that hard to learn," he said, tucking it around my neck and showed me how to tie it, patient even when I messed up and tangled it into impossible knots. After a few tries, I got the hang of it.
"Awesome!" He said, stepping back to check my work. "Good job, you're a fast learner. How about you go and teach some of the other boys now, we can spilt the work in half."
I felt a glow of pride. The way I was immediately trusted and included here made me feel like I finally belonged. Despite knowing my fellow Hufflepuffs for less than a day, I was already part of their family.
Ten minutes later, our dorm was ready to go. The common room was buzzing with excited conversation, several people squashed into each armchair and shouts of greeting yelled across the cosy room.
"Alright guys, let's roll!" Carlos called, fist bumping his classmates as he passed.
Through the hidden door and up the corridor we walked, or skipped, in the case of some people. Delicious smells wafted through the warm air; frying bacon and sausages, honey-soaked pancakes and freshly baked bread. My stomach growled impatiently.
"Mmm... that smells like heaven," Jacob sighed, sticking his nose in the air and inhaling a huge breath.
"Hurry up, c'mon, I'm starving!" Andy said, grabbing Jacob and I by the arms and hauling us down the corridor, breaking into an occasional Naruto-style sprint.
We merged with the Slytherin crowd at the end of the corridor. Andy dropped our arms and slowed to a walk as we wove between green-tied students. I spotted a familiar head through the crowd.
"Hi Dan!" I chirped, ducking past a Slytherin fifth year to tap him on the shoulder.
"Oh! Hi Phil," he squeaked, his shoulders twitching in surprise as he whipped around to face me.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him back next to me, "Andy, Jacob, this is my friend Dan."
"Hi Dan! I'm Andy, that one's Jacob."
"Yo! Howzit going, Dan?" Jacob asked cheerily, leaning past Andy to wave in greeting.
"I'm fine, thanks," Dan mumbled shyly.
"Your tie is all twisted" I exclaimed, tapping the green and silver knot around Dan's neck. "Here, let me fix that."
"Uh, thanks," Dan muttered, as I unknotted the green fabric and tied it properly.
Chatter grew ever louder as we crossed the entrance hall, growing into an echoing din as we entered the dining hall.
"What's your dorm like?" I asked curiously. "Our's is really cosy and there's so many pot plants, it's like a jungle
"Oh, it's alright," Dan shrugged. "Its all green and stuff: windows looking into the bottom of the lake, skulls and candles on the walls. Pretty cool."
"You're under the lake?" Jacob asked in surprise. Dan nodded.
"Sounds awesome," Andy remarked, grinning.
"Ace! Okay, see ya soon!" I said, waving as Dan re-merged with the Slytherins and sat down at the Slytherin table. I slid onto a bench between Andy and Jacob at the Hufflepuff table. This time, I didn't hesitate when food appeared, I loaded my plate and dug in.
"Hello boys," said a cheery voice behind me. "I'm Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff house. Welcome to the family!"
A dumpy old woman with flyaway grey hair and a patched strolled up behind us, eyes twinkling and smiling broadly. She held her wand before her, levitating a teetering stack of parchment.
"Your timetables," she said, flicking her wand and floating three papers towards us from the top of the stack, one landing in front of each of us.
"Thank you Professor."
"Thank you."
"Thanks Professor Sprout."
"Your welcome, boys. Now, the castle can be quite confusing to navigate so be sure stick together. If you need directions, just ask any of the older students and they'll be happy to guide you. Have a great first day!" She moved along.
"What's our first subject?" Jacob asked, snatching up his timetable and scanning it. "Charms, awesome! My Dad loves charms."
"Defense Against the Dark Arts second," Andy noted. "Can't wait to start that one. My parents want me to learn how to defend myself, they're kinda paranoid."
"That's a double class with the Slytherins," I added, looking closer at the timetable. "Hey Dan!" I twisted in my seat, waving at Dan to get his attention from further down the Slytherin table. He glanced up from the plate his was picking at. "We've got Defence Against the Dark Arts together! Second subject!" I called, waving the timetable at him. He flashed a grin and gave a quick thumbs-up before hunching back over his food.
"We have double Transfiguration with them after lunch, too," said Jacob, tapping his timetable. "Charms is with Ravenclaw, and Herbology after lunch."
A gong-like bell echoed through the castle, signalling the start of classes.
"C'mon then, gotta go," Jacob said, snatching a last croissant from the table and springing to his feet.
Carlos guided the first-years to to our Charms classroom and told us where to go for our next class, adding "Good luck finding your way around," as he left.
"Was that sarcasm?" Andy mused, his curious gaze lingering on Carlos's retreating back as the class filed into the room. "I feel like that was sarcasm."
An hour later and hopelessly lost, the three of us wandered aimlessly down a stone corridor indistinguishable from the hundreds we'd walked down.
"He was definitely being sarcastic," Andy muttered, sticking his head around the door of an empty classroom. "Good luck? We don't need luck, we need a miracle."
"Or a map," said Jacob, jogging to the end of the corridor and looking both ways. "Left or right?"
"Whichever way takes us to people," I said, moving up beside him. "We need directions."
The tapestry in front of us twitched, ripping aside to reveal a scowling, heavy-set Slytherin boy exiting a dim passageway. He stopped dead when he saw us staring at him in shock. A second later, I recognised him as the same boy who'd glared at me on the train. There was a tense silence.
"Hello," I said with forced brightness, bouncing nervously on the balls of my feet.
"Hey guys!" came Andy's muffled yelled from a classroom behind me. "Do you think if we made enough noise, someone would..." He petered out, emerging from the classroom and taking in the strange scene. He crossed the ground towards us in several long strides."Um, hi."
"You guys first years?" The Slytherin asked in a husky voice. He shifted from foot to foot, not moving from beside the tapestry.
I nodded nervously, saying "We're kinda lost, do you know where the Defence Against the Dark... Dan?" I paused, surprised.
Dan emerged from behind the Slytherin boy, shoulders hunched, not meeting anyone's eyes. "Hey, Phil," he mumbled.
"Dan, are you okay?" I asked, stepping forwards hesitantly.
"He's fine," the boy said gruffly, crossing his arms like a bouncer in front of a nightclub.
"I'm fine, yeah," Dan said, straightening slightly and glancing nervously at the Slytherin boy. "Just... got a bit lost too. Mullings was showing me a shortcut."
The Slytherin boy, Mullings, nodded curtly. "I'll see you later, then, Howell." He disappeared back behind the tapestry with a swish of black robe, his mouth set in sneer.
For the count of five, there was frozen silence. "That guy is seriously scary," Jacob said at last, striding over to twitch aside a corner of tapestry and peek behind it. "Yep, a secret passage. He's just gone out the other end."
"Man, who knocked over his cauldron? He's got issues," Andy muttered, peering over Jacob's shoulder.
I ignored them. Dan hadn't moved. "Dan, seriously, are you okay?" I asked, putting a tentative hand on his shoulder.
He jerked his shoulder, shoving my hand off. "I'm fine," he said roughly, his voice strained.
"Dan..." I stared at him, confused at his strange behaviour and hurt that didn't want my help. "Dan, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Nothing, it's fine."
"But—"
"We're late for class," he interrupted, pushing past me and striding down the left-hand corridor.
"Wait!" I ran after him, determined to get a straight answer from him. Whatever he said, he was clearly not fine. I grabbed his arm. Faster than I could blink, Dan lashed out, wrenching his arm free with a vicious twist that sent me stumbling against a wall. He broke into a sprint. "Dan..." I murmured feebly, utterly bewildered. I thought we were friends. We were friends, weren't we? Had I done something wrong? Did I hurt him? Guilt bubbled to the surface of my emotions. It must have been my fault. Somehow, I'd ruined our friendship.
"Phil!" Jacob yelled, his and Andy's footsteps echoing loudly as they ran towards me. "Phil, are you okay?"
"I thought Mullings was bad, but man, what the hell was that about?" Andy said angrily, hooking a steadying arm around my shoulders and glaring at Dan's retreating back.
"I don't know," I whispered, staring sadly at the swish of black robes disappearing around a bend at the far end of the corridor. Dan's footsteps had long since faded into nothingness. "I just...don't know."