Chapter 6 Rewrite V1

Stats as of last chapter:

Aubrey Hawthorne

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Level 7

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Age - 11

Race - Human

Sex - Female

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Str - 15

Agi - 16

Dex - 16

Con - 14

Int - 29

Wis - 27

Luc - 18 (21)

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Stat Points - 30

Chapter 6 - Hogwarts
With four minutes to go until my friends are scheduled to arrive at my house, the fire suddenly burns green. I nearly squeal with excitement. Tala stands worriedly as Cedric appears and the flames die down.

“Hi Aubrey!” He greets me.

I stand and hug him. “Cedric! I’m so glad you could come!”

“Of course!” He grins. He hugs me back for a moment and then we seperate. “Oh, is this your Kneazle?”

Tala, who had begun to settle back down, stands back up and jumps onto the arm of the sofa so Cedric can scratch her.

“Yeah, her name is Tala.”

“Cool! Why did you call her that?”

I’m saved answering the question by the flame flaring again and Alicia stepping through with an amazing amount of grace for a twelve year old.

“Hi!” Alicia grins. “Oh my god, your Kneazle is so cute!”

Tala meows and puffs up her fur happily, rolling onto her side for tummy strokes.

“Yeah, she’s the best,” I tell them with a smile.

“Aubrey, are those your friends?” Mum calls from upstairs.

“Yeah, Cedric and Alicia just got here.”

She shouts something else but I don’t hear her. We wait a moment and she comes downstairs.

“Hi guys,” Mum smiles. “Do you want a drink or snacks? We have Cauldron cakes.”

They both politely decline, of course, and Mum retreats to let us have the living room.

“Are your brother and sister here?” Cedric asks.

“No, they’re with my grandparents,” I tell him. “Do you two want to play Exploding Snap while we wait?”

They accept and Alicia is the one to begin an excited discussion between her and Cedric on Quidditch. Alicia is, as far as I can tell, even more insane about Quidditch than Cedric. I listen to them happily with Tala in my lap looking over my cards with me.

“I’m telling you, The Harpies have got it this year!” Alicia exclaims.

Cedric shakes his head. “No, Puddlemere looks the best right now, The Wasps are getting there but I’m not afraid. We’re close enough to be able to take an upset. The offseason for The Harpies was really a poor showing. Yeah, their new Beater and Chaser are a distinct improvement, but they’ll need this season to really work it next year!” He says, winning this hand. “They’ll have a shot if everything works out.”

I shuffle the cards as they lean back on their hands, discussing The Harpies animatedly across the coffee table, and the Floo spits out Adrian.

With one hand in his pressed black trouser pocket and the other holding a giant bouquet of flowers, he arches an eyebrow at us sitting on the floor of my living room.

I grin. “Adrian!”

He gives me a half smile that strongly resembles a smirk. “Thank you for inviting me to your home,” he says, stepping from the fireplace with ease. “I have a gift for your mother.”

I stand and go to the entryway. “Mama! Can you come down?” I hear her moving so I go back to the living room. “I think she’ll love you forever if you give her those.”

“Oh, Adrian!” Mum exclaims.

“For you, Mrs Hawthorne,” Adrian says respectfully. “My mother requested I tell you happy early birthday and tells me she hopes to take you to the Chateau Mordeaux to celebrate.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” she gushes, taking the flowers from him. “I’ll go owl your mother right now. Do you want a drink or something to eat? We have pumpkin juice and apricot cider.”

“I would enjoy a cup of tea if that wouldn’t take time from you,” he says.

My mother reassures him it isn’t and she goes to the kitchen, looking over her flowers very happily.

Adrian turns back to the room, obviously smug he’d made my mother like him.

I roll my eyes. “She’s in love with you now.”

He ignores me and indicates his hand to the game. “Can I join?”

Alicia watches him calculatingly but Cedric instantly agrees and grabs the cards back together to deal them into four. Adrian sits on the sofa, elbows on his knees and leaning forward over the coffee table. . It’s interesting to me how he and Alicia are quite similar but polar opposites. Where Adrian is cool and carries an air of easy confidence, Alicia is outgoing, legs apart on the floor in dark jeans, confident in her own self.

“We’re just waiting for Cormac now,” I state, sitting on my knees on the side between Adrian and Alicia.

“The Gryffindor?” Adrian asks.

Alicia glares. “Is there something wrong with Gryffindors?”

“No, for the most part,” Adrian says simply, throwing a card on the pile. “But McLaggan is an obnoxious oaf. I’ve never been a fan of his.”

Alicia would probably have argued with him but at that moment the fire lights and I turn to see a lady’s face in the fire.

“Sorry to bother you, dears, but Cormac is feeling under the weather, so he’s electing to stay home lest he get you all with the bug too,” she explains - she must be Cormac’s divorced mother. “Sorry to bring the bad news, I’d barely noticed the time!”

I nod at her politely, standing so she could certainly see me. “It’s no problem, ma’am,” I say. “Please tell him that we hope he feels better soon,” I tell her, smiling.

Her face, cast green by the fire, smiles back. “Of course, honey. Thanks for being so understanding,” she says, ducking out of the fire.

Well, since we’re all here I can pitch my idea. I turn to the other three and see they’re all looking at me.

“Alright! I have an idea I’d like to pitch!” I say. They all nod as Cedric shuffles the deck for another game. “I think we should set up a study group. I know we all have different skills already. Cedric is a genius at Charm, Adrian is pretty good at Defence, and Alicia, I think you were saying something about Potions being easy?” They all nod. “Well I know for a fact Cormac is really good at Transfiguration, but struggles with the theory. And if I know anything, it’s Magical Theory! So I can do that, and you can help each other with classwork and me with mine as needed.” I grin. “Plus I figured it’ll also be an excuse to hang out.”

“I was curious how you were going to get us to justify being seen together at school when we usually don’t mix.” His smirk turns into one of the sliest grins I’d seen in a long time - even from my past life. “A study group is a good idea. I am in favour. I think we all scored top five in our respective subjects, except boy-wonder,” he rolls his eyes at Cedric, “who got top five in most of them.”

Cedric nods happily. “Sounds like a good idea! I’ll see if I can get someone from Herbology. May-Ann is a Hufflepuff who’s really good at it in our year. She doesn’t really hang out with anyone, but I’ll try to see what I can do!” He looks at me. “Could you focus on History, though? I know you like the old stuff, and getting a summary of it would save us all big time!”

“Oh, please!” Alicia begs.

Adrian looks at the others like they may judge him for half a second before leaning over the table and saying slightly quieter, “Binns is utter garbage at teaching History, we all fall asleep. His syllabus hasn’t been updated in a hundred years and it’s starting to show in O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. results. He’s had the job for ages, it was his when he was alive and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t noticed he’s a ghost teaching the same stuff after all this time yet.”

I am appalled by this. It’s no wonder they don’t like History! The person who is supposed to buy them is a dusty old ghost! I nod firmly.

Alicia speaks up. “Angelina is good at Astronomy. I’ll see if I can convince her to do this as well. We’re both hoping for Quidditch spots this year, so we can try to work on that with each other too. We’d have three Chasers, a Keeper and a Seeker in our group then, right?” She looks at the boys and they both nod. “And maybe even a Beater if you play, Aubrey!”

I look at my small arms and scowl at her. “Not in your life,” I frown playfully. “I’ll be your manager or playmaker, if anything.”

She laughs. “Pickup Quidditch team! I wonder if we can get a few games in when we get to Hogwarts? Maybe in a couple years we could play against the Weasleys!” She chuckles. “They have the full roster right at home!”

Adrian and Cedric shake their heads.

“Charlie is amazing, and the twins are monsters,” Cedric says, getting a nod of confirmation from Adrian. “I’ll bet they become Beaters this year. I’d not play them unless you paid me!”

“You have to play against better opponents to get better,” I tease. I grin cheekily and am hit in the face by a pillow. Grinning, I grab the one I’m kneeling on and throw it at Alicia.

The Great Pillow Fight of 1990 has begun!

.*****.

Two hours later, the house was once more set to rights and Dad, who is the winner of The Great Pillow War, is lounging on the couch. We’re unsure when he entered, or when it was agreed the winner could order us around, but we didn’t mind. His orders to us consisted of “get me something to drink,” and “go outside and show them the park.”

Really horrid things, I know, but we put up with it. Even Adrian found the humour in it and enjoyed himself.

Over the next hour we nail down where we’ll meet and when, right into the late afternoon until they need to go home. We agree on waiting until after the first week of classes to gather in the Hogwarts Library at one in the afternoon, which would give us just enough time to get a quick lunch before meeting. Seeing everything is now in place, I bid my group of friends goodbye.

“Did you have a good time?” Mum asks.

“I did,” I say, grinning.

“Well, I’m going to get your siblings, will you be okay by yourself for a moment?”

“Sure.”

Mum goes through to the Floo to get them and I go up the stairs, Tala following behind me. In my room, in the corner, is my maple trunk. I haven’t been allowed to pack yet because Mum told me I have to wait until after my friends come over. I have no idea why she feels the need to dictate when I start packing, but now that my friends are gone I can do it!

There is a full week before Hogwarts starts. I don’t care.

I begin by sorting through my books. There are some I want to bring and some I don’t as I’ve already read them or I’m sure there will be copies at Hogwarts. I do that all evening until I am sent to bed, and first thing in the morning, I get back to it.

.*****.

By the time Sunday arrives, the day I have to board the Hogwarts Train, I have packed, sorted, unpacked and repacked at least twenty times. I have my violin, new clothes and robes, the books I want, over fifty notebooks and self-inking quills and all sorts of other things I am sure I’ll need, including my warm blanket for winter.

“Are you ready?” Mum asks. Her eyes are already filled with tears.

“I am!” I grin excitedly. “And Tala is ready too.”

She shakes her head. “Aub,” she mutters, pulling me into her arms. “You have to take Girly.”

“Can I please call her something else at school?”

“You’ll confuse her, so no. I love you baby. I know this is hard, but you’ll be alright. You have Cedric and Adrian and Alicia, and I’m sure you’ll see Cormac at school too. Tala will be fine here.”

I sigh into her chest, holding her just as tightly back. “I love you too. I’m going to miss you.”

“Make sure to owl me as soon as you can. I want to know what House you get into,” she whispers into my hair.

“I will Mama.”

She holds me for a few more moments before gently letting me go. “Okay. Let me look at you. We need to take a photo of you with Jasmine and Adam outside.”

I nod and gather the last of my things together, just my toothbrush and hairbrush, and lock my trunk closed. I tap it with my wand and it shrinks down so I can put it in my pocket.

I’m wearing my uniform already as we will be using a Portkey to get through, accessible only because Dad got permission from work, and follow Mum downstairs. Jasmine jumps into my arms immediately.

“Don’t take Girly!” She cries. “She’s mine!”

“I don’t want her, I want to take Tala,” I tell her. “I’ll send you a letter as soon as I can so you can see her though.”

She nods into my stomach. “Thank you.”

I pet her hair for a moment before gently pushing her off of me and leading her through to the garden. “Let’s take this picture and go to the station!”

Dad picks up the camera and calls for Adam, who appears quickly and grabs onto my arm. He’s cried at least a dozen times this week.

“Okay guys,” Dad says, looking through the camera. “Stand in front of the rose bush. There we are, grin!”

We grin and I tickle Adam’s side, getting him to laugh.

“Okay everyone, to the living room!” Mum calls.

We all rush to the living room, seeing that it’s almost half eight in the morning - our Portkey slot is at half eight exactly and the train leaves at nine!

Tala is in the living room and I go to her and kiss her forehead. “Be a good girl,” I tell her. “I’ll see you at Yule break.”

She meows, her voice soft and small.

I smile at her a last time and join my family in holding onto a piece of rope. When he’s checked we’re all ready, Dad says the password and I feel as the magic yanks me up and, anticipating a spin, I counter it with a twist of my body. Then I hold my breath and close my eyes until I feel myself in midair, knowing the end can be a bit disorienting, and then I carefully bend my knees and air walk myself back down to the ground.

On either side of me, Adam and Jasmine fall right over onto the dirty floor.

“Get up kids, come on, quick!” Mum ushers.

Me and Dad help them and we leave the room at the back of the station platform quickly, right in time for another family to Portkey in.

I step out the door to the back of the platform, a sudden wall of noise hitting me. There are at least a thousand people right here, all shouting, hugging, crying, arguing and saying their goodbyes. Jasmine and Adam are jumping up and down next to Dad, asking him desperately for a chocolate frog from a small vendor nearby. Mum comes through behind me with Girly in her travel cage. Frightened by the noise, Girly begins screeching loudly.

“I need to find a seat!” I shout to my parents.

“Okay, go towards the train!” Mum shouts back, pushing Jasmine forward.

We push through the crowds together, me at the front going towards the nearest train door. I finally reach it and all but fall onto the train, stumbling up the steep steps. There is a big family to the right, so I go left, looking into the compartment doors as I go. Thankfully, there is an empty compartment not far down and I open the door and go inside.

As Mum and the others come in, I take out my trunk and tap it with my wand, expanding it to its normal size. Though it has a Featherweight feature, Dad still grabs it for me and puts it overhead where it belongs Girly’s cage goes up next to it.

“Oh Aubrey,” Mum mutters, grabbing me and holding me tight. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

Noicing Mum starting to cry, Jasmine and then Adam begin crying too, joining the hug.

“I want to go to Hogwarts too,” Jasmine sobs.

“Me too!” Adam sniffles.

“I can’t breathe,” I gasp out.

“Okay, okay,” Dad says, breaking up the hug. He picks me right up and holds me against his chest. “I’m going to miss you baby.”

“I know Papa. I’ll be back before you know it,” I say kindly. “Please don’t cry on me.”

“Ah, I won’t cry,” he says, pulling back. He’s right, he isn’t crying, but his eyes are red with emotion. “You be brave for me. Stay strong, okay? Be a big girl and send owls and do your work, alright?”

His words remind me of the first day we met six and a half years ago, back when I had been unsure of my new body and hurt myself. The amount of times I had hurt myself since, knocks and bumps that had forced tears from my eyes. He has been here for me this whole time, picking me up when I cry and holding me close, reminding me to be brave and strong.

I hold back my tears, refusing to cry on such an exciting day. I hold him close and we stay like that until a new rush of people enter the platform.

“I think we should go,” Mum says softly. “We’ll be right outside, okay?”

“I know Mum. I love you! I’ll see you at Yule!”

We all kiss one last time and my family leaves me here, in the compartment alone.

I take a seat next to the window, waving to my brother when I spot him. My feet just about touch the ground from my bench. I hear the ping of a Quest and, as I am smiling looking around the crowds of people, I look at the notification.

Quest Alert -

Mandatory

The Welcome!

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Objectives -
Get to the Express early (Completed)

Don’t get lost when you get to Hogwarts

Get Sorted

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Bonus Objectives -
??

??

??

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Rewards -

150 xp

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Bonus Rewards -

??

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Failure -

No Magical Education in Britain

The Bonuses aren’t too odd, this should be an easy Quest! The train hoots for the last people to get on the train and I grin excitedly, waving to my family again and they are almost run over by students rushing to get in. I wave to them until the train hoots again and I feel the momentum of us starting off.

Jumping up, I shout to them my goodbyes and love until they are out of sight.

This will be a good day! Lots to do, and plenty of people to meet. Hopefully Cedric or Adrian will find my compartment. It’d be a calm ride with them.

I hadn’t had a chance to check my profile and all my Skills earlier, so I pull them up now.

Aubrey Hawthorne

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Level 7

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Age - 11

Race - Human

Sex - Female

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Str - 15

Agi - 16

Dex - 16

Con - 14

Int - 29

Wis - 27

Luc - 18

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Stat Points - 30

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Perks -

Actor

Dedication

Etiquette

Investigative

Parseltongue

Prodigy

The Shadowed Path

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Skills -

Acrobatics (+) - Level 39

Acting (+) - Level 41

Archery (+) - Level 5

Arithmancy - Level 4

Art (Drawn) - Level 12

Art (Painting) (-) - Level 3

Art (Piano) - Level 25

Art (Singing) - Level 7

Art (Violin) - Level 40

Astronomy - Level 5

Body Language - Level 7

Bowling - Level 20

Calligraphy (+) - Level 5

Charms - Level 12

Cleaning - Level 16

Climbing (+) - Level 29

Computers - Level 14

Cooking (General) (+) - Level 28

Cosmetics (+) - Level 18

Crafting - Level 15

Cycling - Level 45

Daggers (+) - Level 7

Dancing (+) - Level 12

Deception (+) - Level 42

DADA - Level 10

Dodgeball - Level 25

Etiquette - Level 32

Football - Level 6

Gardening (+) - Level 14

Geography - Level 88

Golfing - Level 9

Healing - Level 8

Herbology - Level 5

Investigation (+) - Level 34

Language (Common) - Level 100 (MAX)

Language (Elven) - Level 180 (MAX)

Language (English) - Level 128

Language (French) - Level 39

Language (Latin) - Level 38

Language (Parseltongue) - Level 120 (MAX)

Language (Spanish) - Level 41

Lie Detection - Level 6

Lock-Picking (+) - Level 8

Magical Theory - Level 15

Mathematics (+) - Level 71

Meditation (+) - Level 44

Muggle History - Level 51

Observation - Level 32

Perception (+) - Level 42

Performance (+) - Level 12

Persuasion (+) - Level 12

Pool - Level 3

Potion Making - Level 10

Quidditch - Level 4

Religious Knowledge - Level 45

Runes - Level 4

Running (+) - Level 33

Science (all) - Level 48

Self-Care - Level 25

Sewing (+) - Level 5

Shadow Magic - Level 30

Stealth (+) - Level 43

Style - Level 27

Swimming (+) - Level 27

Tennis - Level 7

Transfiguration - Level 10

Wanded Magic - Level 7

Weaving (+) - Level 5

Wizarding History - Level 20

Writing (+) - Level 52

Yoga - Level 22

It looks good! ‘Game, can you save this, under the name ‘Train to Hogwarts, First Year’ for me please?’

In response I hear a ping, and when I close out into my Main Menu I see I now have a Pictures tab. Wonderful. I pull a book from my pocket and read until the door swings open.

Two new faces are standing there. Other First Years it looks like, searching for seats.

“Oh. Sorry if we’re interrupting. My name’s Jase, and this is Mandi,” Jase introduces, standing awkwardly in the door.

I smile at him. “Aubrey Hawthorne,” I say, giving a polite bob of my head. “Feel free to take a seat. I certainly don’t expect anyone.” I gesture to the bench, big enough to fit five First Years or three Seventh Years, across from me.

Mandi pops into a spot opposite from me, leaving her trunk in front of her. I Observe her and read her profile, pretending it's my book.

Amanda “Mandi” Barnes

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Level 5

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Age - 11

Race - Human
Sex - Female

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Str - 8

Agi - 12

Dex - 18

Con - 10

Int - 20

Wis - 12

Luc - 22

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Mandi is a normal girl ready for Hogwarts. She isn’t sure what it’s going to be like but she hopes to make friends and pull some fun pranks. She has heard some people hate those who are Muggleborn and is afraid no one will like her at Hogwarts

She’s interested in you, and hopes you aren’t going to make fun of her

Interesting. She is the normal Level of someone who has just finished Primary School, so that isn’t too odd. Her Perks are certainly fun. I wish I had the Ambidextrous Perk. I quickly ask the game to toggle on the names of all people I Observe from now on so I can keep track of everyone I look at. Mandi’s name flicks on above her head.

“So... what’cha reading?” Mandi asks.

I shrug, trying to be casual. “A history book.” It’s the third one I’ve read recently. One had been about the most important historical events of all Wizarding times, and then one was history from before the fall of Constantinople, and I have one that is about after that. I also have one about the Muggle World War I and all the events thereafter up until 1985, the time the book was published. I will read that after my current book, the actual First Year History book. Magical and Muggle history is fascinating! It’s not so hard for me to link the two together, and it’s just incredible. I don’t tell her that though. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” I say, clapping the book shut to get a better look at them. “I just wanted to finish where I was on the page.”

They return my smile.

Mandi is a little taller than normal, just over five feet, and she looks really thin. She has strawberry blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Her Perks make me think she’s a prankster, along with her description. I’d need to check out Undying Loyalty and Ambition Perks later when I’m not being watched.

Jase is around four feet, nine inches and looks to be the more physically fit of the two here. Maybe he plays sports? His hair is black and his eyes a dark blue grey. Not too crazy good looking, but certainly very cherub-like despite the preteen nastly looking fluffy dark hairs beginning to grow on his upper lip that he hasn’t shaved. He’s probably going to grow up to be fairly handsome when he learns to groom himself!

“That’s understandable. When I get a good book I can be like that, too,” Jase says, slumping into the bench lazily.

“Yeah. What’s the name of the book, anyways? Any good?” Mandi questions, trying to take part in the conversation.

“Well, it’s just our primary History text. I heard from a few Second Year friends of mine that the teacher is horrid! It’s basically self study, if you believe them. So that’s what I’ve been doing recently,” I tell them, patting the book. “I was just in the section discussing Dark Lord Mardur the Vile. He was the Dark Lord of the 1700’s and was pretty nasty. He’s the reason the Cruciatus Curse is considered an Unforgivable and not a healing spell anymore,” I explain. They nod in an ‘I don’t understand but want to look like I follow’ way. I doubt a Muggleborn like Mandi even knows what Unforgivables are. That is probably enough history talk. I smile a bit bigger. “Do you want to play a game?”

“Uno?” Jase suggests, pulling a deck from his pocket. He must also be a Muggleborn.

I used to play Uno at Muggle Primary School on occasion, so I nod and agree. As we do, I snipe Jase with an Observe, making it ping Level 49, and I skim his sheet.

Jason “Jase” Moore

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Level 3

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Age - 11

Race - Human (two thirds), Mixed (unknown)

Sex - Male

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Str - 21

Agi - 20

Dex - 20

Con - 21

Int - 23

Wis - 21

Luc - 10

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Jase is the Apex of his Bloodline, though he doesn’t know it. As a result, he has an extremely high set of base Stats, a blessing from his bloodline. As a consequence, he is rather lazy because he rarely has to try hard at anything to succeed

He’s bored and thinks he may be able to get you to bet money on Exploding Snap despite never having played himself

I can pretty easily figure out how he got those stats. It’s not hard, considering I remember the Hyphenated Name Perk.

Yours is an old and storied bloodline, and you are the heir to all its potential. You are directly descended from one or more among Merlin, the founders of Hogwarts, Morgana, or any other famous Witch and Wizard there might be in the local world, having some of the most exalted Pureblood ancestry

This has multiple effects. Firstly, you’re able to use any special gifts or bloodline abilities they had despite your blood being so far removed from them. Secondly, you automatically have the potential to be the very greatest, most powerful among your Race. Finally, you count as the ‘Magical Heir’ of your ancestors, meaning any wards, defences or enchantments keyed by them will recognise you

Yes! I remember this from Character Creation. It basically makes Base Stats all start at Level 20, except Luck, which starts at Level 1. It looks like all of his Levels have been put towards Luck since then, which was a good unconscious move.

It is a good Perk, which is why I didn’t take it. Life would be boring with the Perk. Too easy. Also it would affect you in odd ways, like he probably has passives I can’t see from his Mixed, and annoyingly Unknown, Race that is further augmenting his Stats.

As I break out of my thoughts, I have won for the first time against Mandi who had won all the other games, and then Jase put his hands together.

“Want to place some bets?” He asks.

I shake my head. I’m not winning enough to bet anything and I’m thinking Mandi is a bit of a card shark.

“I have money for some snacks from the snack lady, but that’s all.” Not true at all, I’ve brought a small chunk for mail-owl orders from my personal funds, but that is absolutely no one’s business but mine. “I’d like to get some stuff before I get locked in the castle with no hopes for good chocolate,” I say. It’s a reasonable excuse. Well, I actually prefer licorice, but whenever I tell other kids that they think I’m weird, so I’m not going to mention that.

“Suit yourself,” he says. I nod, and seeing the games are apparently over, I turn in my cards and go back to my book.

.*****.

By the time the train is getting towards the Hogsmead station, the compartment I’min has a full set of six First Years in it, with all but Mandi’s suitcase going up top. Two more Muggleborns are with us, which is obvious because they are incredibly shocked by everything magic. We take it in turns getting dressed, some of us going in groups of girls or boys, and others stating they must change alone. This doesn’t include me and one boy, who had grown up around magic and had arrived on the train in full uniform and robes as I had.

Me, Mandi and the boys of our group leave our cart to wait outside so a Muggleborn girl named Cassandra in our group can change alone. A few other groups are also in the carriage hallway, mostly boys grumbling about girls.

A Prefect is monitoring the chaos. They rush over and help one of my fellow First Years with their tie before handing them a slip of parchment, probably with instructions on how to tie a tie. I can’t believe some parents have shipped their kids to boarding without teaching them such basic skills!

We are all quickly rushed off the train the moment it arrives. The Prefect in our compartment points out a short lady who looks to be in her early twenties with a very youthful face, and shouts to us First Years to go to her before running off. I can barely see her in the darkness with only a light emitting from her wand.

I bounce over to the woman, hitting her with Observe along the way.

Bathsheda Babbling

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Level ??

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Age - 25

Race - Human

Sex - Female

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Str - 35

Agi - ??

Dex - ??

Con - ??

Int - ??

Wis - ??

Luc - ??

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Bathsheda is the teacher of Ancient Runes at Hogwarts. She is the youngest Master of the subject in the country, and the youngest to get the Mastery in British history. She is recognised by many as a genius and is a wonderful teacher, loved by all her students. She is known for being fair and kind. As a former Ravenclaw, she has a slight bias towards this House

She has no opinion of you, but is excited to shepherd this year of young Wizards and Witches into the castle

How lucky, I’m excited to quiz her on runes while I have the chance! I reach her and tapp her arm as she seems distracted looking towards the carriages pulled by large skeletal horse-like creatures. Thankfully, she is standing a bit away from everyone so we can talk without completely screaming.

“Hello Professor, I was told you are going to take us to the castle by a Prefect, is that right?” I ask.

She nods. “Yes it is!” She says cheerily. “I’m the teacher of Ancient Runes and Studies! I’m excited to meet you, Miss...?”

“Aubrey Hawthorne, ma’am!” I say a bit gushingly. In the light of the fire, her dark hair is reflecting the gold of the flames, her skin glowing from the same light. She’s very pretty and her voice has a wonderful soft Scottish accent. “I’ve read some about Ancient Runes, so can you tell me about where and what Sowlio would be used for? I can’t figure it out and the texts I have aren’t clear.”

“Well, that is a tricky one, especially if you started with Runes for Beginners or The Basics of Runecraft,” she starts to explain, pausing to wave some confused looking First Years over, “but the basic purpose is to make sure there is a power conduit. It’s not common, and most often it’s used in rituals where someone is aiming to bring victory to something, usually a combat situation. The Norse used it often before raids, but those rituals were lost with the collapse of the Nordic Empires,” she explains. I nod along, following that for the most part. “But if you want to know more, read the book Nordic Runes and their Meanings - the Complete Guide. It’s advanced, but if you have a few other texts to reference the examples they use, then you should be able to understand. You’ll find it in the runes section of the Hogwarts Library.”

She waves over a couple others. I thank her and wait for all the First Years, all one hundred and something of us, to be here. After shouting loudly to be sure she had us all, she leads us over to a well lit path, down towards the gentle sounds of water. Is that a lake?

Soon, I see I am right. A large lake, with about forty boats docked along the edge.

“Four to a boat!” She calls. “They’re enchanted to hold four people at a time. When I’m sure we’re all here I’ll get us going,” she finishes, getting in one. I get in the same one as she does, only then continuing our conversation while everyone else picks a boat.

“Professor, what supplementary texts do you recommend? I’ve read those two you mentioned for beginners, since they seemed to be in the range of a startup, but nothing advanced at all.”

She smiles winningly at me, seemingly happy to get to talk about her subject more. In the better light by the boats, I can see she has an oval face, dark eyelashes and a small nose. Her skin is warm toned, made golden by the fire light. “I’ll make you a list. Say, if you’d like I can give you a bit of side work just to see what you can do. We at Hogwarts are inspired to help those who ask for it, you know. After all, it’d be a shame to let the talent go to waste, no? It would help you have a strong beginners grasp of the subject.”

I smile, nodding. I will do well here. I have optional extra work to push me on-demand from a professor already!This is to be an introductory year to school for those who’ve not been in such a setting before, and a completely new type of school for Muggleborns on topics they’ve never heard of. A solid majority of the school will need the year to get assimilated to Hogwarts and the Wizarding World at large. While they do that, I can get direct help from my professors to advance myself rather than doing it all alone. Oh, what a difference it will make to my Muggle school!

First Year is still going to be slow. Like Reception and Year One in Primary, if I have to guess. It’ll be okay though, it will help everyone get on course and give me time to do what I want in the meantime. Then come Second Year, we will be far more on par.

“I’d like that, I think. I’ll look into it a month or two after we start classes, I want to make sure I can handle what I’m given and am a bit ahead before I start doing extra,” I tell her as politely as I can.

“That’s what I like to hear!” She laughs, looking around, as it’s been about a minute or two. The last couple of kids are getting into boats. One student went top side up with a short yell, splashing into the water. With a flick of her wand, Professor Babbling has him sitting in his boat just fine and dried with another spell I’ve never seen.

She scans the shore one more time before saying under her breath some incantation I don’t catch. The boats all set off.

“Don’t rock the boats!” She shouts to a group of three a few boats over who are sloshing dangerously. “If you fall in while we’re out this deep, you’ll be soaked the whole night and I won’t dry you up or feel the least bit bad if the Giant Squid takes a nibble on your way back aboard.” The other couple of rocking boats cease and she turns forward, a smug smirk on her face. I doubt there even is a Giant Squid. This is a lake!

Ah, I will certainly love this teacher.

Even in mid conversation on runes, I’m not the only one to gasp when the castle comes into view. It’s utterly stunning, a clear sky of stars high above, reflections of gold on the lake, surrounded by tall trees. The castle is illuminated by lights all over, inviting us in. I’ve seen some amazing places in my long life, but this is certainly up there.

It’s some thirty minutes and two Levels in Runes later that we pull into the harbour, my head spinning from all the knowledge Professor Babbling has dumped into my head during the trip. I was absolutely getting a crush on her. Perhaps it’s all the excitement of the day or the incredible setting, but I can feel it. It isn’t my fault she is so smart, and kind at that! Anyway, lots of children and teenagers have innocent crushes on their teachers all the time. It’s just a little bit of childish adoriation.

“Alright everyone, follow me!” She calls.

We follow her right up what seems to be a hidden passage into, or out of, the school from the lake.

We head up a set of stairs, through a door, up a winding set of stairs, and then we’re out of the dark and into what must have once been a holding chamber or preparation room for guards or other personnel, warm and bright. It’s about forty feet to a side, twenty feet high and has arrow slits in the walls which have been repurposed to windows. That makes me cringe inside. The arrow slits are very important to castle defence! Even against Wizards!

“Everyone wait here for Professor McGonagall. I need to let her know we have arrived. And make sure you behave. No one needs to miss the Welcome Feast because they get sent to bed early,” she tells us, opening a door opposite where we entered. As it opens, a wave of sound comes through, making a few students flinch at the sudden volume. That must be the Great Hall, or the entrance before it.

I stand where I am, shuffling with the rest of the students as their nerves start affecting me, and the professor closes the door behind herself. I hear some people muttering rumours around me.

“Did you hear that we have to fight a Troll in front of the whole school? How you deal with it determines what House you get!” One says.

I roll my eyes as some of the children start to murmur nervously.

“No!” Another almost shouts in excitement. “I heard they have a ghost possess you! Don’t you know they have all kinds of ghosts in the castle?”

This is rooted in fact, since there are at least six ghosts and one Poltergeist to my knowledge. One for each House, the one that teaches History, and there is a sixth ghost who apparently helps in the library. Maybe spirit or magical force is a better descriptor for that one. There is a chance there are more too. The Poltergeist’s name is Peeves.

He pranks everyone. Dad had told me.

A few minutes into the chatter, a girl shrieks as a loud voice booms, “Silence!” through the hall. I look up to see a ghostly man above the door looking down on us. I hope he’s not the Poltergeist. Considering the ghostly figure looks to be covered in gorey blood, I suspect he is the Bloody Baron. Having never met a ghost before, I quickly Observe him as he glares at us furiously.

Waldo Morrison

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Level ??

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Age - 1008

Race - Ghost (Human)

Sex - Male

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Str - 0

Agi - ??

Dex - ??

Con - ??

Int - ??

Wis - ??

Luc - ??

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Often called The Bloody Baron, his past is a mystery, though it is widely known he had a history with the Grey Lady back when he was living, who is the oldest House ghost in Hogwarts according to what records exist

He thinks you’re one of three potentially acceptable people to be accepted into House this year purely based on appearance

Ghosts being physically weak makes sense - they’re intangible after all.

“You will be Sorted in two minutes! Get yourselves looking decent. You!” He flew over to a boy with a badly tied tie. “Fix your tie this instance!”

The Bloody Baron’s voice is incredibly loud and growly, utterly terrifying most of the room. He whizzes around, getting increasingly more angry as he notices more and more issues with our uniforms. I cast some charms to clean my clothes and straighten them before he can find a problem with me, as well as to make myself feel fresh, then make sure everything else is done up properly. I cast a cleaning charm on my shoes too, and a brushing charm on my hair to make it as neat as possible with my curls. It’s just reaching my lower back brushed out like this. I've accidentally been sitting on it.

His duty of preparing us apparently complete, the Bloody Baron turns and flies out through the closed door. Looking around, the others are generally dusting themselves off or freaking out about how they look. One girl has actually pulled out some makeup from her pocket of all things. None of them have pulled their wands out to clean themselves except me.

The Bloody Baron has scared them something fierce!

The door then opens. An older woman, maybe around fifty, stands there. I recognise her from school photos of my parents and know her to be the Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. Some students went silent, seeing her immediately, and others kept chatting between themselves. I am tempted to Observe her but I don’t want to distract myself at such an important moment. I’ll have plenty of time to look at profiles another time.

“Silence,” she commands, voice cutting through the low roar of the room almost more effectively than the Bloody Baron’s had. The room silences instantly. She waits a few moments, giving us a disapproving look down her nose, before continuing. “We are going to go into the Great Hall now. When we reach the front, you will stop and I will climb the stage. When you hear me call your name, come to the front of the Hall and sit upon the stall to be Sorted.”

She waits just a moment and then turns sharply and leads us out of the room. We walk out into a hall with giant doors open to the outside opposite steps up further into the castle, and opposite the door we had come from was another set of gigantic open doors I can’t see into because I’m shorter than the other children in front of me. I walk with a straight back, eyes forward, following the group until we step inside and we seperate just enough for me to see the Great Hall.

Here is all of the student body, on my left Ravenclaw and then Slytherin. On my right, Hufflepuff and then Gryffindor. A wide aisle is before us, leading to a stage with steps up to the Head Table, a stool and an old, saggy hat before the professors. I almost don’t notice the giant magicked sky on the ceiling until a cloud moves to reveal the moon and catches my attention - it entirely takes my breath away. The floating candles are an amazing touch, along with the large windows that are too high up to see out of and a large golden reading stand to the side of the Head Table.

Professor McGonagall marches to the front of the Great Hall with us trotting after her like nervous ducklings and we stop when she gets to the front, letting her climb the stage alone.

As she pulls out a thick, rolled up scroll, the hat sitting on the stool begins to move and, to my suprise, sing.

“Once I was a fledgling hat,

Tall and pointed without a tear,

On brave Gryffindor’s head I sat

And witnessed magic beyond compare,

But the greatest wand-work I ever saw,

Came with the founding of these halls,

Those four great minds of years ago,

Used the magic I’ll now recall:

Wise Ravenclaw with wand of willow,

For charms she was renowned,

She hid and disguised this patch of land,

To ensure we would never be found.

Then brave Gryffindor with wand of holly,

Transfigured out of the mountain,

The great stone castle in which we sit,

Where generations could all be taught in.

Now Helga Hufflepuff with wand of spruce,

Added features for our leisure,

She conjured furniture and stocked the kitchens,

For every student's pleasure.

Meanwhile ambitious Slytherin,

Kept his work closely guarded,

He enchanted rooms and carved out chambers,

Just before our founders parted.

So remember now in these challenging times,

That one day long ago,

Our founders four all worked together,

To ensure they reached their goal.

And now although each of you may possess,

Skills that set you all apart,

You must stay united while you’re divided,

To give Hogwarts back its Heart.”

The hat belts out the last verse and I blink. Powerful enchanted objects like this are often insightful and if it is as old as it indicated, it must have some really deep insight on the geopolitical situation here, having seen everyone for the last nine hundred years and Sorted them based on their traits.

I have so many questions for that hat!

By the time I shake off my internal thoughts, Professor McGonagall has started calling people forward and we’ve all clapped several people off to their new House tables.

“Fenton, George!” She calls. I will be in the next few being called, so I pay attention. They’re no one I know. I see Mandi is in Hufflepuff and hope she likes it there.

“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat shouts. Two boys with red hair scream loudly and bang their feet in celebration. I see clearly as the boy raises his arms in excitement as his robes magically change to sport the Gryffindor badge and his tie turns deep red. I haven’t considered how I’ll look in the Hogwarts House colours. The Hufflepuff colour is a lovely canary yellow, Slytherin is an even deeper than emerald shade of green, Ravenclaw is a rich royal blue and Gryfindor is a wonderful blood red. I think I’ll look good in all of them, honestly.

A few other kids are Sorted and then my time comes. “Hawthorne, Aubrey!” Professor McGonagall calls.

I leave the pack, heart spiking in excitement, and go to the stool. All eyes are on me but I barely feel any nerves. I pull myself up onto it, feet not reaching the floor, and let the professor lower the hat over my eyes.

“Hmmm,” the hat’s voice says on the edge of my mind, before I hear laughter from the hat above me. “Could you lower your shields? I sadly need to be let in to test you, and your defences block even me! Most would not, but… alas, you’ve found a way!”

I oblige only because I know I have to for this, before speaking to it in my head. “I have questions, hat,” I inform it. “Can you answer them?”

I feel it nod, and then start laughing aloud to the whole school! “I see that! I see! You’re older than most of this Hall combined! Reincarnation! Yes, wonderful! It’s rare to see a reincarnate keep their memories. The powers that be even translated it into a discenerable feature for you. How kind, hmm?” It muses in my mind, and then I feel a shift on my head as the hat moves. “Ah, yes, you were Slytherin originally, back in your old life. What are your questions?”

Yes, I had been an ambitious person in my last life, specifically my early years. I still am, but not in the way I used to be. I feel it rummaging through what happened when I was an Elfling in my mind. “Well you mentioned the Heart of Hogwarts. Is that a place or a metaphor?” I ask instantly.

“It is both a physical and metaphysical place. It is a place you can visit if you try hard enough. If you want to go there, you may want to talk to the House Elves,” it informs me.

I file that information away. “Is there a map of Hogwarts I could have? Or a way to map the school?”

The hat shrugs in its own way on my head. “I’m sure some of the students have made things like that over the years. I also know Ravenclaw herself had a map of the school. I expect it’s been destroyed by now though. If you did make a map like that as you’re thinking, I’d be intrigued to see it,” the hat replies, before sighing. “Your first hundred years were quite sad, hmm?”

I wince and nod. “Not my finest. You’ll find my last hundred or so much more fulfilling and happy,” I say. The hat keeps sorting through everything. “It gets worse before it gets better.”

“Indeed,” it rumbles. “Really you could be any House, this system is superficial to you as you have so many versatile experiences. Do you not want to go a particular way?”

“Slytherin or Gryffindor would get in the way, I think,” I inform the hat. “If I am to help unify the students, I cannot be closed to one or the other.”

The hat mentally laughs, softer this time. “Yes, most wise indeed. Well, Ravenclaw would be my preference then,” it says. “You’ll be great, there. Hufflepuff would help you, in other ways.”

“Last question before you decide. Where can I go for help aside from faculty?”

“Ask the House Elves if you need something the Professors cannot do for you or if you don’t feel comfortable going to them.”

It sits up straight, pulling us out of the whirlwind of memories we’d been going through. The last image left in my mind was my last moment as I chose to sacrifice myself to save my child, making my heart hammer.

“We’d better tell everyone it’s RAVENCLAW!” It calls aloud.

After a few seconds the room started clapping. I wonder about the delay as I get out from under the hat before deciding to ignore it. I see my new robe colouration and I slide into the nearest available seat at the Ravenclaw table.

“Why’d you take so long to Sort?” One student whispers to me.

I shrug. “I don’t even know how long I was under for.”

The student blinks owlishly at me. “About ten minutes,” they tell me.

“Really?” I ask, surprised.

He nods and hesitates as it gets quiet again and waits until the next student gets their House announced - done instantly in his case - before speaking to me again during the applause. “I’m Anthony Penrose. Fourth Year.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” I say.

It only takes a few minutes more to finish the Sorting as everyone else is sent to their new tables far faster than I, and then Professor Dumbledore stands. There is another applause that’s even louder.

He puts his hands up. “No doubt you are all starved from your train ride to our beloved Hogwarts, so I shall save the announcements for after the Feast. Please, enjoy.”

He lifts his cup and food appears on each table.

We all go to fill our plates, my own stomach growling loudly. I look down the table and see other than myself, there are twenty-three other First Years in Ravenclaw. Fewer than average, considering. Ten other girls and thirteen boys. I didn’t know any of them.

I’ll introduce myself later. They know my name probably, after my Sorting, but I’d not paid enough attention to figure out theirs. For now, food! As well as reading my Quest, as it had dinged complete at the same time the hat had shouted my new House.

Quest Complete

The Welcome!

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Objectives -

Get to the Express early (Completed)

Don’t get lost when you get to Hogwarts (Completed)

Get Sorted (Completed)

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Bonus Objective -

Make sure your Sorting is quick (Failed)

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Rewards -

150 xp

+5 to Runes Skill

Temporary Perk Ravens Wit (i)

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90 xp to Level 8!

I read while savouring my dinner of roasted pork and all the sides to an amazing British roast. It’s a shame I couldn’t have completed the Quest in its entirety, but I enjoyed myself regardless! Can’t win them all.

I doubt it matters much.