Back At Hogwarts

After the train comes to a stop at the Hogsmeade station I make sure to be one of the front students out of the train. Before any of the first years make it to Hagrid I walk up to him and turn him away from the kids.

He looks at me grabbing his arm in confusion "Yer not a firs' year anymore. An wer's Harry?"

I roll my eyes at the thought and sigh "I know, I was wondering if you knew where Harry was… I guess not."

"Harry's gon' missin?" Hagrid says, pulling back aghast.

"Well he wasn't on the train and I don't think he has any other way to get to the school." With another sigh, I continue "I have to go, make sure to keep an eye out."

Hagrid nods his head as I start to walk away "I'll ask around for ye'." As I get farther away I hear him start to yell "FIRST YEARS GATHER HER'!"

I smile remembering my first year here as I make my way to the gates. As I reach the gates I see Professor Flitwick with a quill and a checklist.

He smiles as he sees me approaching "Ah, Young Black." he looks through his checklist and marks off my name from his list but frowns as he does.

"Where are your friends? Potter and Weasley haven't checked in and it's almost time to depart." Looking at my wry smile he just sighs and gestures me in.

The gates are large cast iron with beautiful craftsmanship. The pathway itself is full of carriages being pulled by creatures I've never seen before but look oddly familiar. Hanging over the path are beautiful willow trees that seem to be avoiding getting in the way of the path growing to the sides. They are just barely tall enough to reach over the entire path making a very aesthetic archway effect.

Ignoring the beauty of the area I'm in I step closer to the undead horse-looking things pulling the carriages. As I step closer the two on the carriage turn and look at me with as much curiosity as I'm staring at them with.

I reach out my hand to pat the top of the closer one's head. It lowers its head to let me pet it but I pull back as I hear the door to the carriage open. Turning my head I see the frizzy brown-headed Hermione staring at me with annoyance in her eyes.

"Why are you so late?" She says taking a step out.

I shrug, "I was talking to Hagrid, I wanted to know if he knew anything."

She stares at my half outstretched hand in confusion "And what are you doing now?"

I look back at her in confusion "About to pet an undead horse with wings?" I gesture to the creature who is still looking at me expectantly.

She tilts her head as if staring at a crazy man. She is about to say something but Flitwick walks up behind me.

"So… You can see them, Young Black." He says while looking at the undead horse in front of me.

I nod "Why can't Hermione?"

He smiles "These are Thestrals, they can only be seen by people who have witnessed Death. Despite their appearance, they are some of the kindest magical creatures known to the wizarding world."

Realization dawns on my face. "My wand core is made out of their tail hair. I knew they looked familiar, they were in the list of possible Patronus." I finally reach my hand out to pat the top of the Thestral's head. The Thestral happily accepts the head pats not too dissimilar to Luar. Its tail flicks to and fro to express its happiness.

He looks confused at me "I've never heard of a wand using their hair as a core. Quite unique I would say… sounds incredibly powerful for dueling… hmm. May I see it, your wand I mean."

Without looking away from my new buddy I reach into my robe and pull my wand from my shadows and hand it to him.

He studies the intricate designs on the wand, tests the flexibility, and ponders why it's so long. He begins to mutter as he examines it. "A long wand denotes the confidence and large personality of its wielder. Completely unyielding showing the unwillingness to accept a change in partners. Thestral core could mean many things, kindness, strength… maybe even a connection to death itself."

I nod along with what he says as it seems right. But his tone demeanor changes slightly when he is about to mention the wood. He turns a bit somber "...Black. Yew. Wood… Known amongst the dueling community as the most ruthless wood out there. Yew wood is known to be best at spells concerning life and death. Black Yew wood is THE BEST at the latter. I've had many friends taken by this wood, but as I've always said, it's the person, not the wand."

He hands me my wand back as I'm staring at him at this point, still petting the Thestral. He smiles "Although I say that, I trust you, young man, although your wand excels at taking life it is also the best at giving it. If you so choose you could perhaps be a legend in the healer community. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey wouldn't mind showing you a few things."

I nod "Thank you, professor, I'll think about talking to her."

He smiles back as he raises his own wand to his neck and speaks in a loud voice "EVERYONE IN THEIR CARRIAGES, WE ARE DEPARTING SOON."

Hermione gestured for me to follow her into the carriage to which I followed. Inside was much more spacious than the outside. Neville and Dean were sitting inside already on the big soft benches.

I look at the "What, no Seamus?"

Dean rolls his eyes "He is in another carriage with his 'Girlfriend'." He obviously looks a bit upset about being ditched.

I smile and sit down happy the annoying one isn't here. Hermione quickly sits next to me and in a quiet voice asks "If you don't mind me asking why can you see Thestrals?"

Before I can answer Neville pipes up, "Are those the scary horses pulling the carriages?"

Hermione and I look at him curiously while Dean looks confused. I gesture for Dean to look at me. "Thestrals can only be seen by people who have seen someone die."

Dean's eyes widen "Bloody... brutal." after a second he looks between Neville and me "Wait, you can see them. How?"

I gesture at Neville "I'll share with the class if you do." I give him a reassuring smile.

He sighs "I was at his deathbed when my grandad passed away."

Hermione starts to speak up "I'm sor-"

He waves his hand brushing it off "It's fine it happened a long time ago. I have moved past it."

They all stare at me next. I give a small smile "I was there when my Mother passed away." I wasn't lying, I was there when my first mother died. I was just too young to remember. What am I supposed to tell them? 'I brutally murdered my abusive father in my past life' Yeah that ain't happening.

Dean looks down as if relating and Hermione looks like she is about to say something. I just hold up a hand "Let's talk about a less hard topic. Are you guys ready for Dueling class? Did you all sign up?"

It was a resounding Yes.