7 Start of A Long Journey

Platform 9 and 3/4...

If he were like the majority of the students who were about to enter Hogwarts for the first time, perhaps he would be scrambling about in the train station cluelessly, trying figure out just where this elusive platform 9 and 3/4 was.

But, that fact was... He wasn't like them.

He had a house elf.

So without any needless trouble and drama, with just a quick snap of Glas's fingers, they arrived next to an obnoxiously red train which looked like it still ran on coal like it was still the 1940's.

Ymir sighed and didn't comment about it since Durmstrang wasn't any different, still using their tattered pirate ship salvaged from who knows which ditch.

Boarding the train, he was relieved to find many compartments unoccupied, giving him plenty to choose from.

It was a good idea to come half an hour early.

Now, having chosen a fairly secluded compartment which was at the perfect distance from the washroom and near the tail end of the train, he grabbed his journals from his luggage and decided to pass the time by organizing his notes.

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Five minutes before the train was set to depart, a knock came upon the door of his compartment which was then slid open as two familiar faces peeked in.

"Oh, hello there, Honorable Paladin."

"Miss Pansimillis, Sir Blaze. A pleasure to have you here."

Upon seeing each other, the three children smiled meaningfully, and he patted the seats to welcome them in.

"..." Dark brown eyes shifted about, glancing at every corner of the compartment to make sure no one was hiding there. "Did you bring it?"

Ymir raised his eyebrows. Why was Blaise acting like this? "...If you're asking about Dungeons and Dragons, then, yes, I brought it."

Pansy huffed. "Why are you acting sneaky, Blaise? It's not a contraband."

Not seeing the desired reaction, Blaise deflated.

"Come on, play along, will you? It's for the fun of it!" He whined. "If you're too serious about everything, your hair will turn white soon."

As though prompted, Pansy immediately turned to look at Ymir's hair.

"..." Ymir smiled wryly. "I don't think I have to worry about that."

"..." Blaise chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, you're right."

"Just get the sets so we can start playing already." Pansy said but, in the midst of her speaking, the door suddenly slid open and then came a certain Draco Malfoy, strutting in and brimming with excitement.

"Hey! I just heard that Harry Potter is on this train right now! I'm gonna go look for him with Crabbe and Goyle." He declared without even a single greeting.

Ymir blinked. Harry Potter, he knew about because he previewed the Modern Magical History book at home. But, who were Crabbe and Goyle?

"We're about to start playing Dungeons and Dragons, though... Don't you want to play too?" Blaise puffed his cheeks in disappointment.

"That...Um-" Draco hesitated, his mind quickly trying to weigh which one was more important. Harry Potter. Dungeons and Dragons. Harry Potter. Dungeons and Dragons...

Seeing this, Pansy was quick to strike the iron while it was hot.

"Won't you be able to see Harry Potter in Hogwarts anyways? You might even end up having classes with him." Pansy reasoned, her words logical and faultless. "But, if we don't play Dungeons and Dragons, we might not get a chance to in the future often since we might not be in the same House."

Immediately, Draco looked swayed, and after some moments of thinking, he groaned and slid down to sit beside Ymir. "Ugh! Fine! Let's play!"

"Whoop! Score for Pansimillis!" Blaise grinned happily, already having finished setting up the table for their game.

It was clear just who was the most eager to play here.

"Alright, who's Dungeon Master this time?" Draco asked, expecting Ymir to sacrifice himself again, but was quite surprised when the answer didn't conform to his expectations.

"Me!" Pansy eagerly raised her hand.

"Oh, so Casimir finally gets a chance to play?" Blaise widened his smile in interest.

To this turn of events, Ymir looked to Pansy to confirm her decision. "Are you sure, miss Parkinson?"

"I'm sure. In fact, I actually have some ideas I want to try out." Pansy smiled to herself mischievously.

Two boys gulped nervously.

"On second thought, maybe Ymir should-"

"Shush."

"Oh, okay."

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"Wait, can I choose to marry the dragon?" Blaise asked, looking to the Dungeon Master imploringly.

"Sure, go ahead." Pansy smiled but, hidden in her eyes was a sharp gleam, as though she were a predator who was hunting for prey.

Unfortunately, only Ymir managed to notice this, and it wasn't like he would do anything to stop what was about to happen. He'd much rather sit back and enjoy the show.

"What?! No fair! I wanted to marry the dragon!" Draco cried out. He was the Dragonborn. Shouldn't dragons be more attracted to him?

"Well, Blaise is the bard so..." Pansy shrugged, as though that phrase was enough to justify everything.

"Alright, rolling the dice now! And... 17!" Although it wasn't a nat 20, it should be high enough to guarantee somewhat of a success... right?

"Blaze the Frost, successfully proposes to the dragon, vowing to share treasures and life with each other, but he did not know, that his suffering was about to begin as the dragon..." Pansy grinned deviously. "Was actually male."

"Cough!" Blaise choked as he stared at the Dungeon Master in horror. "Pansy, what in the bloody hell?!"

"Oh. Rest in peace." Ymir smiled calmly.

"Haha! Serves you right!" In comparison, Draco was laughing victoriously, relishing in Blaise's pain and inwardly feeling lucky that it wasn't him in that position.

At this moment, a knock came from the compartment door and two people politely peeked in.

Suddenly, Ymir was overcome with a feeling of Deja Vu.

"Excuse me. Can any room here be spared?" A girl with perfectly styled light blond hair and blue eyes asked, her eyes scanning the faces of all the people in the compartment before finally stilling on a certain person. Behind her, was a thin boy with wavy brown hair and grey eyes.

"Daphne." Pansy nodded slightly in greeting, her back straight and posture perfect, legs crossed and hands on her lap primly.

"Pansy." The blond girl gave a quick nod back. "I see you didn't take my advice about your... hair."

"I quite like my hair the way it is, sorry." Pansy smiled, but the air was thick with tension.

"Well, to each their own, I suppose." The girl shook her head, as though disappointed.

Silently, the three boys looked at each other, wondering what to do about this situation.

Draco, raised his eyebrows towards Ymir, head tilting slightly towards the direction of the two guests, as though asking an unspoken question.

To this, Ymir shrugged, leaving the decision-making to Draco who scrunched up his face in distaste and resignation, before straightening up his posture and donning a confident smile.

"Miss Greengrass, Nott, you're welcomed to sit." With his words, the tension in the compartment slowly eased, though Pansy crossed her arms and huffed. "I hope you don't mind the table, though."

Blaise and Ymir relaxed, each grabbing their character sheets and pretending they were busy reading.

"I've been meaning to ask-" The boy who'd previously been staying quiet, studied the objects on the table curiously. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Dungeons and Dragons." Four children answered simultaneously.

"Pardon?"

"Just keep watching and you'll understand eventually." Blaise chuckled.

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"This is favoritism! Favoritism, I say!" Slamming a hand on the table, Blaise cried out, eyes trained directly towards the Dungeon Master.

Said Dungeon Master, at this moment, just casually looked him up and down and raised a single eyebrow. "Oh? And where, pray tell, is your evidence?"

"Alright." Blaise took a deep breath, readying himself for a long tirade.

To the side, Ymir, Draco, Daphne Greengrass, and Theodore Nott, sat back to watch.

"Casimir and I were in the same situation, right? There were two mysterious chests, and we each went towards one. I roll a 15, and get a Ghoul popping out from the chest, trying to kill me!" Blaise started, trying to explain calmly but ultimately failing.

"A ghoul covered in chains of pure gold-" Pansy tried to clarify but was quickly cut off.

"But, when He rolled a 16, he got a set of Holy Armor?! That's just blatant favoritism!" Blaise turned to look at the others, trying to see if anyone else agreed with him.

"Well, he rolled more than you did. I don't see the problem." Draco shrugged.

"That's just a single point!" Blaise nearly hissed. "The outcome shouldn't have been that different!"

Being the other person being talked about in this topic, Ymir could just awkwardly try to lessen his sense of presence to avoid being dragged into the argument.

Though, fortunately, the argument didn't get the chance to even start as a welcomed change in topic arrived at the right time.

"By any chance, do you still have any character sheets available?" Daphne cleared her throat, eyes looking towards the four players in interest. "If you'd welcome me to join, that is."

Instantly, the three other players turned to look towards Ymir, waiting for his decision.

Suddenly faced with their attention, Ymir just slowly slid the packages towards the two guests.

"There are quite a lot still left in those boxes. You're free to take one for yourself." He said quietly. "And you, Heir Nott?"

The quiet boy, who seemed to keep to himself unless spoken directly to, was obviously curious about the game but was too withdrawn to actively join in. "Yeah, I'd like one too."

Now, with the game temporarily paused to allow the two to create their character sheets so they could join, Ymir once again took out his journal and began rereading his notes, double-checking for anything he missed.

Unknown to him, his shadow had actually started moving strangely at this moment, catching the eye of Blaise who was sitting directly opposite him.

'Chii?' With a quick chirp, Ymir felt something cold rub against his legs, prompting him to look down upon the creature that suddenly materialized from his shadow.

It was wrong. So very wrong.

"That..." The pupils of Blaise's eyes shrunk and chills began to form on his skin. "What is that?"

The moment he saw that thing, strange and unintelligible whispers suddenly filled his ears. His vision started to waver and turn dark.

"This is Noir." Ymir carried the creature to his lap calmly. "My cat."

"I don't think that's a cat, Ymir." Blaise's voice was trembling. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't supposed to be here.

'Mrrp.' As if trying to prove him wrong, the creature made a sound that was a perfect mimicry of what a normal cat would sound like.

"It's a cat." Ymir said again.

"No, that's definitely not-"

"If it wants to be a cat, and identifies as a cat, then it is a cat."

To this, Blaise had no counter-argument.

"..."

"Stop being so fussy, Blaise. That's obviously a normal and very ordinary cat." Pansy butted in but, the way she refused to look at the creature said something else.

"Yes. Nothing to see here. Just a plain old black cat." Draco confirmed, eyes trained to his character sheet, fingers shaking slightly.

"Right..." Somehow, he felt comforted that he wasn't alone.

Suddenly, the compartment door was slammed open, and everyone nearly let out a sigh of relief when the invisible aura of fear disappeared.

"Has anyone seen Neville's toad?" A girl with bushy hair and prominent front teeth asked. "He lost it in the train."

After everyone said no, the girl quickly shut the door closed, but Ymir was looking at Noir as though he knew exactly what it did.

Outside the window, it was already dark.

"We should probably change to our school robes." Pansy suggested.

And right on time, the train's announcement came. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken separately."

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It was damp, dark, and crowded.

The noisy chatters of children filled the surroundings as people began to push against each other.

In this chaos, Ymir felt it fortunate that he and Draco had unique hair colors, allowing them to not lose sight of each other.

"Firs' Years! Firs' Years! Over here!" A familiar looking Half Giant called out over the noise. Ymir swore he'd seen that Half Giant before. Possibly at Diagon Alley?

With only the aid of a single lamp, the children struggled to walk as they made their way beside a lake in the dark and slippery path.

Once, Draco nearly slipped and fell, only managing to stabilize his footing when Ymir and Blaise grabbed his arms. Since then, he'd been cautious about every step he took, pinching the corners of Ymir's and Blaise's sleeves to reassure himself.

On the other hand, Pansy and Daphne were chatting to several other girls that they managed to recognize while Theodore was back to keeping to himself.

"Yeh'll get yer firs sight o' Hogwarts in a sec." The Half-giant said as he lead them through the darkness. "Just round this bend here."

And, suddenly, there was light in the distance, illuminating a large and impressive castle.

There it was. Hogwarts.

Somehow Ymir was reminded of the fortress in the Black Forest where he spent nearly his entire life in.

A collection of "Ooooh!"s depicted the amazement of many children. Most likely, from those raised in the muggle world.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Directed to a fleet of wooden boats, the Half Giant informed them, making sure none of the boats toppled over.

Immediately, Draco pulled Ymir and Blaise with him to one of the better looking boats, claiming it before anyone else could.

Ymir blinked and shared a helpless gaze with Blaise.

"Where's Pansy?" Draco asked, only now realizing that one of them was missing.

"She went with Greengrass, I think." Blaise shrugged. "Probably went with her on another boat."

"Oh, well then." Paying it no mind, Draco made himself comfortable in his seat.

"Should we invite Heir Nott over? He doesn't seem to have gotten on any boat yet." Ymir looked towards the boy standing stiffly on the shore. "And he doesn't seem to want to talk to others."

"Pfft." Blaise snickered, having seen just what Ymir was looking at.

"Yeah, sure." Draco chuckled as well. "Hey, Nott! Come here! We have something to tell you!"

With a confused look, Theodore walked towards them and was cought by surprise when Blaise suddenly pulled him into the boat and sat him down beside him.

"You're with us now." Draco grinned.

Dazed, Theodore blinked a few times and rubbed his nose. "Well, I guess there's nothing I could do about it."

"Everyone in? Right then-" The Half Giant did a quick head count and stepped on a boat by himself. "Forward!"

And the fleet of boats were off, gliding over the lake in silence.

Now, with them gradually getting closer to the castle, Ymir realized that it was actually situated on top of a cliff. Which wasn't a safety hazard at all. Yes, not at all.

Wizards and their aesthetics.

Oh wait, he was a wizard too. Hmm, now it made sense.

Ymir thought of the Eyeball Beans in his garden, the strange fishes in the aquarium in his living room, and bookshelf of haunted books in his study.

Yes, the wizard aesthetics ran strong indeed.

"Heads down!" The Half Giant gave a warning and each of them quickly ducked as they passed through a curtain of ivy and entered a tunnel which lead directly to a harbor underneath the castle.

After disembarking from the boats, they were lead to flight of steps which ended before a large wooden door which the Half Giant knocked on after confirming that everyone was there.

The door quickly swung open, revealing a tall witch in emerald green robes and donning a stern expression on her face which immediately made the whispering children quiet.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The Half Giant said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take it from here."

They followed Professor McGonagall towards an empty chamber where she explained to them the four houses of Hogwarts and the sorting which they were about to face.

Although Ymir tried to listen well, to see if there were any information he hadn't known yet, he was disappointed when it was basically the same as what he'd already read in the books.

Though, up until now, the exact sorting process still wasn't revealed for some reason. Was it necessary to keep it secret? Perhaps it was tradition.

In any case, after Professor McGonagall left them shortly, a group of ghosts came, which startled several of the children and caused them to scream in terror.

Ymir furrowed his brows. And this was why it was important to give muggle-borns pre-magic education.

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Far away, in a desolate castle, cold winds blew in through the gaps on the stone windows.

But, contrary to it's dreary appearance from the outside, the inside was actually quite warm and hospitable.

"What day is it?" A hoarse voice spoke, it's roughness indicating a long period of disuse.

"The first of September, 1991, my Lord." Came the muffled answer from the other side of the wall.

Emaciated fingers paused on a certain page of an old black journal. Heterochromic eyes reading a single line repeatedly, as though searching for the memories it contained.

"Not too long now..." He whispered to himself, rubbing the metal cuffs on his wrists. "I've waited this much already."

But, one must not forget that this place was still a prison.

A prison dedicated to only one individual.

"How cruel of you, my dear."

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