*Gobbledygook*
$Parseltongue$
-September 1st, 1991-
{Alex's POV}
They stepped into the Great Hall, Neville to their right and Draco to their left. They were in the middle of the group of first years. Harry, Alex's brother, was at the front of the group with his best friend, Ronald Weasley. He had already made a scene in the entrance hall, complaining extremely loudly to Ronald about how unfair it was that he hadn't been allowed to collect his heir ring, the goblins having said that he wasn't eligible to claim the heirship.
Alex had simply shaken their head at this. Of course Harry wasn't eligible to claim the heirship. Firstly, they had already claimed the heirship. Secondly, Harry wasn't even the first child, he was the second born son. Finally, even if he had been the first born, the family magic had chosen them to be the Potter heir. There really was no way that Harry would ever be able to collect the heirship ring to an heirship he had no claim to whatsoever.
As they walked down the middle of the hall, between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, Alex quietly spoke to Draco and Neville.
"No matter our houses, we'll still be friends, right? Even if we can't talk often?"
"Of course. You are my first friends without my father's interference," Draco agreed.
"I would like that, I haven't had any friends before you guys," Neville replied. Alex was glad about that. Having friends across the houses would be extremely useful for their plans for the future. Plus, they really liked Neville and Draco, even after only knowing the for the duration of the train ride.
The line of first years stopped and Alex looked up to the front of the hall. At the front, in front of the head table, was Professor McGonagall, holding Alistair, the sorting hat. A three-legged stool was placed next to her.
"When I call your name, come forward to be sorted," Professor McGonagall said.
"Abbott, Hannah,"
"Hufflepuff," Alex tuned the sorting out until they reached the L's.
"Longbottom, Neville," Neville walked forward, his face showing his nerves. He sat down, Alistair falling over his head, covering his eyes. A minute or two later, the brim opened and called out Neville's house.
"Gryffindor." Neville walked towards the house of red, who were cheering and clapping for him. Alex applauded their friend. They knew he would be disappointed that he wasn't in Hufflepuff, but Alex thought that he would fit into Gryffindor well. He was braver than he thought. Soon, it was Draco's turn.
"Malfoy, Draco." Draco strode forward, his emotionless mask, that all purebloods had, firmly in place. He sat down and Alistair had barely touched his head when his house was shouted.
"Slytherin." Draco walked calmly over to the house of green, who were politely applauding, as was expected of them. The P's were finally reached. Everyone would be expecting Harry. Everyone except Neville and Draco. So, Alex wasn't surprised at the silence that occurred when their name was called.
"Potter, Alex." The confusion on Professor McGonagalls face was clear as she called out Alex's name. They walked forward amidst the silence and stares of the people in the hall. They sat on the stool and allowed Professor McGonagall to place Alistair on their head. As soon as their eyes were covered, the whispers started.
"Hello Alistair," Alex greeted in their head.
"Hello Alex. You have definitely had an eventful 4 years. Now, where to put you?" Alistair went silent after that, and Alex felt him shifting through their memories. After a while, Alistair spoke up again.
"Well, you would fit in well in both Ravenclaw and Slytherin. You can choose," he said.
"I would like to go to Ravenclaw. I feel that that is where my knowledge and skills will thrive best."
"If you're sure then?" At Alex's confirmation, Alistair declared his decision to the hall.
"Ravenclaw."
Alex walked to the Ravenclaw table, head high and face blank. They sat down as Professor McGonagall regained her composure, continuing with the sorting.
"Potter, Harry." Harry walked to the stool and sat down. Like with Draco, the hat barely touched his head before the decision was called.
"Gryffindor."
Alex hadn't expected anything else. The rest of the sorting went by and Alex had removed their research journal from their pocket. They had thought that maybe someone else in Ravenclaw might know of an ingredient that they were missing. They didn't pay attention to Dumbledore as he stood to welcome everyone. They barely knew Dumbledore, but already disliked him. It was due to him that they had been ignored for 6 years by their parents. It was also because of him that magic for people with dark cores had been classified as dark and evil and been restricted.
They looked up when they heard cutlery hitting plates. Food had appeared on the tables and everyone was filling their plates. They waited for everyone around them to fill their plates before reaching for food. They made sure they had a balanced meal and began eating, listening to the conversations around them.
"I'm Terry, Terry Boot. You are?" the boy next to Alex asked.
"Alex Potter, heir Potter-Black," they replied, turning their attention from their food to the boy, Terry. Terry's shaggy, light brown hair fell across his eyes, and a smile was evident on his lips.
"I didn't realise the Potter's had a second child," Terry said.
"Neither did they for 10 years. And I'm not a second child. I'm actually Harry's older twin. Hence how I hold the heirships and he doesn't," they replied. They held up their right hand in response to Terry's unasked question, allowing Terry to see the heir ring visible on their right ring finger. Their lairdship rings were hidden, as was the markings showing their Slytherin heirship. The heir ring held both the Potter and the Black crests, signifying Alex as the rightful heir to both houses.
By now, a few of the other students around them were listening in on their conversation.
"What do you mean Alex?" a girl directly across from them asked. She seemed like she had Indian heritage, her skin slightly darker than those who were fully British, while her hair was long and black.
"Hmm?" Alex hummed.
"What do you mean that they didn't for 10 years?" the girl clarified her question.
"Oh, just that they forgot that they had two children after Harry became famous. It's fine though, I live with my godfather now and he cares about me. Much more than Lily and James do." It seemed that nobody knew what to say to that. The group around Alex grew silent for a while, everyone thinking intently as they ate. Conversation along the rest of the table continued though, so no one from the other houses picked up on the group of first years.
Alex soon grew tired of the silence, uncomfortable about how their revelation had been taken.
"So, you all know who I am. How about some other introductions?" Alex asked. The other first years nodded.
"I'm Padma, Padma Patil," the girl directly across from them said. She was the one who had asked about their parents.
"Lisa Turpin," a girl on Padma's right said. Lisa had slightly tanned skin and straight, curly blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders.
"Michael Corner," a boy on Padma's left said, reaching his hand across the table to shake Alex's hand. His hair was black and messy, but it seemed that it was styled that way. His skin was light, his dark eyes standing out in contrast.
"Anthony Goldstein," the boy on Alex's other side said. His hair was a similar colour to Lisa's and fell down below his ears.
"Su Li."
"Mandy Brocklehurst."
"Morag MacDougal."
"Stephen Cornfoot."
"Kevin Entwhistle." The rest of the group of first years introduced themselves. Conversation flowed and Alex soon forgot about their research book in light of getting to know their classmates. Soon enough, the food disappeared, and the headmaster stood at the front of the room.
"To our new students, welcome. To our old students, welcome back. A few start of term notices before we all head up to bed.
"Firstly, the new students should note that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and a few of our older students should remember as well.
"Mr Filch has asked me to remind everyone that magic isn't allowed in the halls between classes. The banned items list has been extended to include fanged frisbees this year. The full list is posted on Mr Filchs door.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week and anyone wishing to play for their house team should submit their name to their head of house.
"This year the third-floor corridor is also out of bounds to anyone who doesn't wish to die a very painful death.
"Finally, a new teachers this year. Professor Potter is the new Muggle Studies teacher."
These words caused Alex's stomach to drop. Their head whipped around, looking directly at the head table. Sitting up there was someone that Alex thought they wouldn't have to see again in their life. Someone they hadn't seen yet. Lily Potter, their biological mother.
Alex wasn't paying attention to the prefects who led them through the halls, their mind still whirling through what they had just learnt. Lily was here. She would finally find out about them. Would she try to take them away from Remus? Soon, Alex was brought out of their thoughts as the group around them stopped. They looked around, seeing the door to Ravenclaw tower in front of them.
The prefects at the front turned around, looking at the group of first years.
"This is the entrance to our common room. While Gryffindor and Slytherin require a password, and Hufflepuff requires a specific rhythm, to get into our common room we must answer a riddle or question." The prefect turned around and used the eagle knocked to rap on the door. The eagles beak opened.
"I have four legs on the morning, two during the day and three in the evening. What am I?" the knocker asked in a soft female voice. Alex immediately recognised the voice as Rowena Ravenclaw's and smiled at the thought. Of course, Rena would leave her mark to keep extending the minds of her students.
"A human," Alex answered while the rest of the group thought about it.
"Correct," Rowena replied. The door to the common room opened and the group was led in. The prefects stood in the middle of the circular room and the first years crowded around them.
"Welcome to the Ravenclaw common room. On the left are the stairs to the boy's dorms, girl's are on the right. The dormitories for first, second, third and fourth years are down the stairs, while the fifth, sixth and seventh are up the stairs. It should be noted, however, that boys aren't allowed in the girl's dorms and girls arent allowed in the boy's dorms. If you need to contact someone in the other dorm, there are portraits next to the stairs that will happily take the message to the required room.
"Should you ever need any help with classwork, assignments, spells or anything else, feel free to come talk to one of the prefects. It would be preferred that you come to the sixth-year prefects over the fifth and seventh, as they are in their OWL and NEWT years, but any of us are happy to help.
"Tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock, Professor Flitwick, our head of house, will come to welcome you to Ravenclaw. For now, though, you will find your things already in your dorms. Goodnight," the prefect finished. The male prefect led the way to the boy's dorms, the female leading the way to the girl's. Alex said goodnight to their friends as the group spilt to go to their assigned rooms.
Alex waited in the middle of the room until the both groups had disappeared. They then walked forward, to the door between the stairways. They knew that they were probably the only one who could see the door, as Rowena had said that she would be placing a notice-me-not charm on the door, making it so that only non-binary people, and people who knew of the room, could see the door. They pushed the door open, entering the room they would live in for the next 7 years.