8 The Bird Flies Alone

The hat sang horribly. That was the first thing he thought of.

Ymir cringed to himself and mentally sighed in relief when the song was over.

He hoped that didn't happen every year, but, judging from the resigned expressions on the faces of the older students sitting on their house tables, it most likely did.

How long had it been since that hat had last been cleaned? Was the second thought in his head.

"Abbott, Hannah!" Professor McGonagall, who had been the one to lead them into the hall, called out and a girl who was visibly nervous stumbled towards a high stool which she was made to sit on. The dirty hat was then placed on her head.

"Hufflepuff!" The hat cried out after a short pause.

No.

"Boot, Terry!" - "Ravenclaw!"

Nope.

"Granger, Hermione!" - "Griffindor!"

Ymir didn't care. He didn't care if this was the sorting. He didn't care if everyone in the school was watching.

That hat wasn't going anywhere near his head if it didn't get hit by a cleaning spell first.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

And, there goes Draco, giving him a small nod before strutting confidently towards the dirty old hat.

"Slytherin!" The hat shouted, barely even touching his hair. Draco was lucky.

"Nott, Theodore!" - "Slytherin!"

"Parkinson, Pansy!" With a quick wave of farewell, Pansy, too, took her place on the stool. Then, the hat was placed on her head.

"Slytherin!" The hat yelled after a short pause, and she was welcomed to her new house with a round of applause, taking a seat beside Draco.

Now, with just the two of them left in their group, Blaise stood next to Ymir as Draco and Pansy gave them encouraging smiles from their table.

"Potter, Harry!" Professor McGonagall called, and suddenly, everyone's attention was focused.

"Harry Potter?"

"She said Harry Potter, right?"

From within the crowd of children waiting to be sorted, a boy with messy hair stumbled over to the stool and both Ymir and Draco widened their eyes when they realized that they actually already know this boy.

It was that awkward child from Madam Malkin's!

Ymir raised an eyebrow. What a surprising turn of events.

When the hat was placed on the boy's head, everyone was silent. Waiting.

Will this boy follow the path his parents took, or will he forge his own unique destiny?

The pause was long and tense, and even the professors were silent and expectant.

And, finally, the hat opened it's mouth to bellow. "Griffindor!"

And the whole house was in cheers, loudly expressing their excitement. "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

With Potter taking away the attention of most people in the hall, those that came after him were either relieved by it or annoyed.

No one even seemed to realize that the sorting was still ongoing aside from the children who were called and the professors.

As the children were sorted one by one, finally, Professor McGonagall called out.

"Schreiber, Ymir!"

Ymir nodded to Blaise, straightened his back and walked out with a steady and calm pace, looking towards the hat with determination in his eyes.

Then, right before the stool, he paused. And just when Professor McGonagall was about to ask him what was wrong, he, with a quick flick of his wrist, drew out his wand and said, "Scourgify."

A cloud of dust, dandruff, hair, and who knows what was instantly separated from the hat and Ymir scrunched his face in disgust. They were going to put that on his head?!

"Ooh! Refreshing!" The hat twisted upon itself. "I haven't had a clean in ten years! Many thanks, laddie!"

The whole hall was stunned into silence, before, suddenly, a burst of cheers and laughter resounded.

"I've been wanting to do that for ages!" Someone shouted.

"Wait, you could do that?!" Came Draco's indignant voice from the Slytherin table.

"Dear Merlin! That was on my head!" Screeched some horrified girl.

"Alright, alright. Quiet down, please." The headmaster's voice reverberated, amplified by magic. His eyes twinkled in mirth and amusement. "Carry on, Minerva."

"Of course, Headmaster." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and gave a pointed look to Ymir, who immediately got the memo.

He gave one hesitant look towards the chair, mentally debating whether he should give it a quick clean too, but decided against it, not wanting to try the Professor's patience.

As he sat there, suddenly his vision was blocked and a voice began speaking directly into his mind.

"Hmm...Hmm..? Hmm!" Ymir blinked as the voice rummaged through his mind.

"Boy, what is this? Your mind is a mess! I can't see anything!" The hat complained to him. "There's a crave for knowledge, that, there is plenty. But, there's surely bravery, loyalty, and ambition too! It's just that, there's nothing too concrete here."

Sure, he might be considered brave, being able to face the unknown situations that happened in his life. And, he was part of a bloodline that was famous for its unwavering loyalty.

But, Hufflepuff didn't offer anything he was interested in, and Griffindor was much too loud.

"Mmrgh! How about just picking your own house, then?" The hat seemingly gave up. "Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Which will it be?"

The Bird or The Snake.

Between knowledge and his friends, he chose the one that he needed more.

"Ravenclaw!"

Immediately, Ymir took the hat off from his head and stood up.

Although they expected it beforehand, the two new Slytherins still sighed in their seats, looking visibly disappointed.

Upon glancing at them sitting on the Slytherin table, Pansy was was dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief while Draco was gently patting her back in comfort. With the way they acted, they made it seem like he had died instead of just sorted in a different house. On the other hand, Blaise just waved him off, still waiting for his turn to be sorted.

Awkwardly averting his eyes, Ymir went straight towards the Ravenclaw table where he was greeted with polite claps and no excess fanfare. Yes, he could already tell that he made no mistake here.

"Weasley, Ronald!" - "Griffindor!"

There was also the fact that Ravenclaw had a considerably lesser number of students than Griffindor and Hufflepuff.

No one paid too much attention to him, but no one ignored him outright. Everyone tolerated each other's existence and respected boundaries. It was perfect.

"Zabini, Blaise!" Walking towards the stool, Blaise gave him a small smile before the hat fell on his head. Well, he did try to copy Ymir's little stunt with the spell, but a sharp look from McGonagall quickly made him change his mind.

"Slytherin!" The hat shouted, marking the end of the sorting.

And now, it was time for the headmaster to say his customary speech.

"Welcome!" The elderly wizard with long silvery beard, wearing a strangely patterned robe, began. " Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! That is all!"

Ymir blinked slowly as everyone clapped and cheered politely. The headmaster seemed to have an interesting brain.

Though, it was quite fortunate that his speech wasn't nearly as long as he had expected it to be.

"Would you like some potatoes?" The boy sitting beside him offered.

"Yes, thank you." Ymir nodded in thanks and took the bowl of baked potatoes, serving himself.

As expected, the food was very... British.

"My name's Anthony Goldstein, by the way." The boy introduced himself as Ymir idly mashed his potatoes and added more pepper. "What you did to the hat was funny."

"Ymir Schreiber." He nodded slightly to the other boy, taking in his bright blond hair and brown eyes. "Pleasure to meet you."

While he was eating, he felt someone staring at him, but whenever he discretely tried to figure out who it was, the feeling would disappear as though it were never there.

Strange.

By the end of the banquet, the older students began to lead the new students towards their dormitories where they would stay for the rest of their school years in Hogwarts.

Before they left the Great Hall, Ymir glanced towards the Slytherin table where he saw Draco, Blaise, and Pansy waving at him goodbye with matching white handkerchiefs in hand, fluttering.

The corner of Ymir's eye twitched. He wasn't dead!

"First years, please follow me." A clear voice sounded and attracted the attention of the confused first years to a senior girl.

Lead up to multiple flights of stairs, and towards one of the towers, it was quite obvious that the Ravenclaw dormitory... encouraged bookworms to exercise.

Finally, to the relief of many little ravens, they arrived in front of an imposing bronze statue of a raven.

Here, the senior leading them paused and turned to face them. "Hello everyone! My name is Penelope Clearwater, a fourth year student and prefect!"

"Now, I'll be introducing you to the first thing you have to know as a Ravenclaw, and that is; how to enter the common room." She explained clearly before stepping aside so they were able to see the raven statue in full view. "Here, we have the Ravenclaw dormitory's entrance."

Upon seeing no visible door, several children were visibly confused, but the prefect was quick to enlighten them.

"Ahem, Ravenclaw statue, if you please," She tapped the Raven's beak.

"What has an eye but cannot see?" The statue opened it's beak and spoke, startling several children. Ah, the standard muggle-borns.

"A needle." The prefect answered, and immediately, the statue flapped it's wings and the wall behind it began to open up. "Smart lass."

"Well, that's basically how it goes. To enter, you have to answer it's riddle correctly. But, take note that the riddle changes everytime." Penelope Clearwater said simply and lead them into a tunnel. "I answered it for you all today as an example, but starting from tomorrow, you'll have to rely on yourselves, so be sure to keep your mind sharp and clear."

At the end of the tunnel was an ornate wooden door which the prefect slowly pushed open, streaming light into the dim tunnel.

"And now, with that done, first years-" When the door was fully open, a sight that filled them all in awe was presented before their eyes. "Welcome to Ravenclaw!"

A wide circular open room surrounded by tall glass windows on all sides, towering bookshelves, and reading tables, all decorated in blues and bronze.

It was magnificent.

❄️❄️❄️

Snow was falling in the peak of winter. Near the entrance of a forest behind a fortress, a father and his son were happily building a snowman together.

Placing the last arm on the snowman, the father paused, looking towards the sky, deep in thought. Unaware that his son had wandered into the forest.

Shortly after, the child came running back with something in his hands, his thick coat making him look like a little bouncing ball.

"Vater! Vater!" The child shouted, catching his father's attention.

"What is it, mein shatz?" The father crouched down to catch his son in his arms, their identical silver hair blending together seamlessly.

"Vater, it's a snake!" The boy presented the emerald scaled animal in his hands which was moving very sluggishly, appearing quite pitiful.

"Indeed, it is." The father nodded and gently took the snake from his son's hands and hid it safely in his coat pocket. "But, it looks like it's dying, so how about we go inside and warm it up?"

"Okay!" Quickly agreeing, the boy's grey eyes glistened in joy.

With his big hands, the father rubbed his son's head, messing up his hair. "Let's put it in a jar so you won't get bitten."

❄️❄️❄️

When the first rays of sunlight entered through the windows, Ymir's eyes shot open.

In a daze, he blankly stared up at the blue drapes around his bed and blinked in confusion.

It's been a long time since he dreamt about his father. How was he doing right now in Nurmengard? Does he regret leaving him? Probably not.

Shaking those thoughts out of his mind, he ran a hand through his hair and reluctantly got up, grabbing his clothes and essentials from his closet, idly noting the addition of Ravenclaw colors on his uniform, before heading straight for the bathroom to start off the day.

By the time he was done and ready, his roommate, Anthony Goldstein, was still asleep, so he decided to head to the common room for an early reading before going to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Surprisingly, he wasn't the first one there as a senior was already reading alone in a corner in silence.

"Good morning." Ymir greeted quietly, not wanting to disturb him, but didn't want to appear rude either.

"Morning." The senior greeted back, looking up from his book briefly to give him a smile.

Slender black eyes like a fox, and straight black hair that was tied into a bun behind his head. He looked to be of Asian descent.

"Off for an early reading too?" The senior asked, his demeanor relaxed and calm.

Somehow, just being in his presence gave off a refreshing feeling.

"Yes." Ymir answered, looking towards the many bookshelves in the common room. "By any chance, do you have any recommendations for learning about portkeys or apparition?"

"Oh?" Hearing his inquiry, the senior raised an eyebrow. "A bit too advanced for a first year, don't you think? But-"

He paused and looked at Ymir thoughtfully.

"I do know of a few such books." He smiled, eyes squinted. "But, you'll have to introduce yourself first."

"Oh. Apologies." Ymir stiffened, inwardly berating himself for actually forgetting common courtesy and offered his gloved hand to the senior. "My name is Ymir Schreiber. First year starting from today."

"Ayato Fuji. Third year starting from today." The senior chuckled and shook Ymir's hand, patting the chair beside him for Ymir to sit. "Now, about those books-"

❄️❄️❄️

Portkeys rely on the precise input of specific coordinates in order to transport people to the desired location. One small change in coordinates may cause a large deviation, therefore, production is quite difficult for those inexperienced. But, when done correctly the perks are that the travel is very stable and it is less likely to cause injuries.

There's bad news.

Ymir didn't know of Gaia's coordinates.

But, perhaps, it could be changed?

If the runes used in portkeys are slightly altered, along with using an anchoring device connected directly to the portkey like a signal transmitter (he learned this from the muggle books) instead of using coordinates, it might be possible.

"Hey, Schreiber?"

"..."

Meanwhile, with apparition, anyone who has passed their OWL's will be given permission to try for their Apparition license, with the only requirement being, to have a stable enough control over their magic so that they do not injure themselves in the process.

Though it is still quite often that you'll see people dying from a failed apparition attempt. And, to add to it, long distance travel is pretty much impossible for apparition.

Automatically, Ymir ruled this out. Which only leaves him with portkeys.

Well, that was something to work on, atleast.

"Schreiber!" A hand snapped in front of his face, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Oh- yes?" Ymir looked towards the boy who'd been trying to get his attention, dazed. "What is it?"

"Were you even listening?" The boy, Anthony Goldstein, groaned in frustration.

"Yes?" Ymir answered, pulling out a new black journal which he'll use to dump all of his stray theories, thoughts, and ideas from today on, from his bag, along with his quill. "You were saying something about the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Ugh! I'd have to start over from the beginning, don't I?" Anthony slammed his head onto his desk dramatically. "Whatever! As I was saying, according to rumours, apparently, the professor was actually a Ravenclaw when he was still a student. And that, before taking his current position, he was actually the Professor for Muggle Studies."

"Mmh..." Ymir made a sound to show that he was listening, scribbling his experimental design for an inter-planetary portkey on his journal.

"But, you know how he's like... all covered in garlic now? Apparently, he wasn't always like that!" Anthony went on, relaying the recent gossip to him. "They said that he met vampires in the Black Forest and wasn't the same since."

"Black Forest?" Ymir suddenly lifted his head from his journal, looking straight at his chattering roommate. "The one in Germany?"

Taken aback by Ymir's sudden reaction, Anthony hesitantly nodded. "Yes?"

"Huh." Ymir frowned thoughtfully, fingers playing with the pages of his journal.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" Hesitantly, Anthony asked.

"Yes. I live in a fortress in the Black Forest." Ymir muttered, his brows furrowed. "There are no vampires anymore. Only talking snakes."

"Are you able to..." Anthony suddenly leaned away from Ymir, the eyes that looked at him filled with apprehension. "-talk to snakes?"

"No, that is not what I said." Ymir gave his roommate a judgement glance. "It is the snake that is able to talk to me."

Anthony blanked, staring at the German boy as though waiting for an explanation, to which, Ymir sighed.

"It was a strange snake. Didn't like eating prey and didn't know how to hunt for itself." He began his short story. "It kept saying strange things like promising me power and wealth as long as I swear to serve him."

"My bloodline is already sworn to a different lord so I refused. Though, I still ensured it's survival by making sure to keep it fed." The more Ymir spoke, the stranger Anthony's expression became. "That was until it suddenly disappeared on the beginning of July. I wonder what happened to it."

By the end of it, Anthony looked like he just heard something he wasn't supposed to.

Was that-

That snake was-

But, surely not, right?

"Oh, the teacher is here." Ymir pointed out as the door to the classroom opened. And then, came the garlic smell.

❄️❄️❄️

It didn't matter.

It didn't have to be perfect immediately.

This is just the first attempt. If it succeeds, then he will refine it so the next generation will produce better results.

But, if it fails, there is nothing to lose.

This.

This will become the hope of the magic world.

A game to create the perfect Gaia.