Chapter 4 : Hogwarts

On hearing the redhead's voice, Adam suppressed a sneer of disgust; although the boy had done nothing in particular to him, he hated his character in the books. Arrogant without competence, full of himself and above all lazy, if fate wasn't with him and Harry, they'd be dead long ago.

But Adam did nothing to prevent their meeting, Harry was Harry and it didn't concern him even if they were brothers. 

He would learn his lesson alone and then Hermione would be there for them. 

As the journey progressed, Adam gradually fell asleep, at first faking it but the ride made him really drowsy.

His vision went black.

He looked up and again the same storm, the same bird as at Ollivander. 

- What the hell's going on? he said through the wind that blew his words.

Adam could see whirlwinds of light resonating with each other, forming a powerful horn-like noise as if celestial trumpets were sounding in the sky.

The bird lowered its head towards him, its deep blue eyes staring at him as they would stare at an ant, then the clouds suddenly rumbled and a flash of light passed through Adam.

He awoke on the train with a loud bang, scaring Ron and Harry to death as they sat opposite him.

- ARE YOU COMPLETELY CRAZY?" they shout.

Adam didn't react, an intense pain shooting through his body, as if the lightning bolt from earlier had really hit him.

It took a while for the pain to subside, and the boys continued to lecture him on the risks of a human heart attack and how not to have fun with it.

- Hello, boys! Can I get you anything?

Luckily, the candy lady saved the day. Ron took out his miserable sandwich and Harry looked at me like a butcher looks at meat.

I pulled a few gallons out of my bag and handed them to the lady with a sigh.

- A little of everything, please.

- THANK YOU, BROTHER! 

Adam sat down while the boys eagerly shared them. 

Adam took out his wand, a slight note emanating from it as he took it in his hands, as if it were greeting him.

This, thought Adam, has never happened before. Maybe the lightning wasn't a figment of his imagination.

He closed his eyes; he hadn't meditated since the night he'd managed to capture one of those points of light. 

Adam clearly saw his magic core near his heart, glowing with a faint blue light since it first matured on his eleventh birthday.

- See?

The speck of light he'd attached to his heart was completely different from his magic core, as if the two were a completely different energy.

"Hmmm I'll study that in detail later."

The door to their compartment suddenly opened and a girl with bushy hair and buck teeth emerged.

- What's this? You do magic?" she exclaimed as Ron tried to change the color of his rat.

Seeing Ron's trick fail, she quickly lost interest.

- Look, here's a real spell!

She took out her wand and...

- Reparo!

Harry's originally cracked glasses suddenly came back into focus. Harry gasped in surprise.

- There you go! she said proudly. By the way, have you seen a toad? Has Neville lost it?

The boys shook their heads and she left.

- What a strange girl," said Ron. We'd better get changed, we'll be arriving at Hogwarts soon!

Adam sighed for the umpteenth time and pulled out his wizard's robes, which he quickly put on.

[Scene break]

The boys got off the Hogwarts Express, leaving their things on the train.

- Harry, Adam! called the half-giant, waving a welcome. FIRST YEARS! FOLLOW ME!

The little wizards followed him as he guided them to small boats floating on the surface of the black lake.

- Three to a boat, hurry!

Harry, Ron and Adam climbed in together and settled in.

- Do you think it's going to be dangerous dividing up the houses? My brothers told me we'd have to face a troll.

- Division?" asked Harry.

- You don't know ???? At Hogwarts, students are divided into four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. As long as you don't end up in Slytherin everything's fine, most black mages come from there, he explained with obvious disgust.

- GET YOUR HEAD DOWN," Hagrid yelled at them as their boat passed under a bridge.

The view that followed was breathtaking and ended their discussion instantly. Hogwarts was impressive to anyone, no matter where they came from.

[Scene break]

- The Potter brothers!" an arrogant voice called out.

Adam and Harry turned around.

- So the rumor was true, the famous Harry Potter is at Hogwarts this year.

Adam sighed...Draco Malfoy.

His statement elicited murmurs from the others, who hurried to see what Harry looked like.

He held out his hand but neither Harry nor Adam grasped it, triggering a stiff expression from him.

- You'd better be careful who you hang out with," he advised.

Harry was about to retort but Professor Mc Gonagall had arrived in front of the big doors so Adam stopped him.

- Here they are, Professor.

- Thank you, Hagrid," she replied with a smile. First years, follow me.

Her stern tone silenced everyone and the little wizards followed in step.

Suddenly, shouts rose up behind Adam and he turned to see, stunned, a score of ghosts that had just appeared through the back wall. 

- Well, first years, I hope you'll be at Hufflepuff, that was my house when I was younger," he said, wiping away a fake tear.

- Let's go now," said Professor McGonagall in a curt voice, cutting the ghost short.

She opened the great doors of the common room, Adam's journey as a wizard had begun and his eager eyes were already sparkling in the glow of thousands of candles.

Four tables were lined up in the great hall, where golden cups and plates lay, and at the end of the hall the professors had taken their places on a long table overlooking the students. 

Adam looked up at the ceiling, which reflected the starry sky.

- He's delighted, I read it in..." began Hermione.

- I know!" cut in Adam with obvious annoyance.

Shocked, she fell silent immediately. Harry looked at Adam strangely but couldn't say anything because Professor McGonagall had stopped. 

She set up a stool in the center of the room and placed a decrepit old hat on it.

"How ugly," Adam thought to himself.

A large tear suddenly appeared in the center.

Adam's face paled...

"OH NO NOT HIS SONG"

He clamped his hands over his ears to stop enduring this torture.

[Scene break]

- 'When I call your first name, would you come and put the hat on your head.

They nodded.

- Hannah Abbott 

She placed the hat on her head and...

- HUFFLEPUFF

THE distribution then continued, each student going to this house or that, until...

- Adam Potter

The room fell silent; even if he wasn't as famous as his brother, he was still a Potter.

With a smile, Adam sat down on the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on his hair.