(1/3) First Day at Hogwarts

Just a heads up, that we're going to slow down a little bit to establish school life, set up characters and goals, etc. Don't worry, I'm not going to have several chapters for each day, it's just this first day.

Also, I spent a long time building a schedule for Hogwarts and by golly, we're going to see it!

(Word Count: 3,825)

Percy and the girl prefect, she hasn't introduced herself yet, led them through the stone corridors of the castle, leading them up the large marble staircase in the entrance hall to another hallway where they found the large tower with the moving staircase. As they walked, many of the portraits of past wizards looked on curiously at the new students. Some would call out as they passed, but the first years were too nervous to respond.

Percy turned down a large corridor and there at the end was the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. It was the Fat Lady, a… well, fat lady in a greek styled dress, her hair crowned in a laurel of leaves and berries. She was sitting on some granite steps, a column with vines going up it to the left, and in the background was a greek estate on a hill. When the Fat Lady saw the crowd coming down the hall, she straightened up, and poised herself in a dignified manner.

"Password?" She asked.

"Caput Draconis," Percy replied.

The Fat Lady gestured to invite them in, and her painting swung open to reveal the entrance to the Gryffindor's common room.

Admittedly, there was much less red and gold than Harry had been bracing for. The walls were stone, but many of the walls were covered in tapestries. They were red, embroidered with gold, but had depictions of greenery on the bottom half, making the room much more pleasant. There was a large globe in the center, plenty of couches and chairs, rugs to cover the wooden floor, and a huge fireplace. It was a cozy area. To the left and right of the room were stairs leading up to the dorm rooms.

The two prefects turned around to address the group. "Welcome to Gryffindor!" the girl said, "My name is Mabel Poole, this is -,"

"Percival Weasley," Percy interrupted her, "We are the fifth year prefects."

Mabel shot him a look, but moved on. "Anything you need, please don't hesitate to come to us for help. We will be distributing your schedules here in the common room tomorrow morning. Breakfast is available from 6 O'clock to 8:30, so don't miss it!"

Percy continued, "the first staircase on the left leads to the girls' dormitories, the staircase on the right leads to the boys' dormitories."

"Boys aren't allowed in the girls' dormitories for any reason, and the stairs are enchanted to prevent entry, so don't bother trying," Mabel said. "That will be all for tonight! Your things have been placed next to your beds already, so have a good night, everyone! Don't forget to get your schedules tomorrow morning!"

With so few students currently attending Hogwarts, one would think that they would be able to have their own rooms, but no. They were all placed into a single, albeit large, room! The girls were probably in the same situation. He'd have to ask Hermione tomorrow.

Their new room was a large round room, with 5 canopy desks along the walls with feet pointed inwards, each with a dresser on the left and a desk to the right. Each desk area happened to align with an arched window. The center of all the furniture was a circular rug, with a lion embroidered into it.

Harry's things were set on the bed to the right, one of the beds closest to the door. He tugged off his shoes, set them at the foot of his dresser and flopped down onto the bed. "Ugh!"

All of the traveling had left him exhausted.

"So, it's true? You're Harry Potter!" Harry heard a voice someone say. He turned and propped himself up on his elbow. It was Seamus.

"Yeah, I'm Harry," he said, "You're Seamus Finnigan, right?"

The boy bobbed his head up and down, "Yeah! How'd you know?"

Everyone in the room gave him a deadpanned look. "Really?" Dean asked. 

"I heard your name when you were sorted, mate, nothing special," Harry said.

"You didn't have a vision of today?" Ron asked. The Weasley's all heard from the Lovegoods about him "having a vision of the future," as he had claimed in the letter to them. Luckily, he now didn't have to lie about visions, considering he can actually do that now.

Harry shot Ron a look telling him to shut up, but the damage was done.

Ron gave an apologetic look. "Sorry, Harry. It just sort of… slipped out."

Neville, Dean, and Seamus all got curious, looking between Ron and Harry. "What do you mean, 'vision'?" Dean asked.

Harry sighed, although he had used the excuse of visions to get Mrs. Figgs to take him to Diagon Alley, and to save Pandora, he didn't really want to get a reputation of being some sort of prophet or fortune teller. Fat chance of avoiding that now.

"I sometimes have dreams of the future, and yes, Ron, I did see us being sorted today," Harry said. And it was true. Ever since he had gotten the Seer perk, he had been getting dreams of the future. It definitely wasn't always clear on what was being shown, or if a dream was even about the future or not. Harry had to start a dream journal to begin recording his dreams, to try and interpret if they were prophetic or not.

"Wait, does that mean you knew me before you came to talk to me?" Neville asked, a little put off by the whole thing.

"Yes, but don't take things the wrong way, I don't know everything about everyone. I just get glimpses," he explained. It did seem to make Neville feel better.

"So have you seen anything about us?" Seamus asked, excitedly.

Harry shook his head wryly. "Listen, mates, the future isn't something that I like to talk about much unless it involves saving someone's life. I'd rather not have any of us try and force a friendship or try to do something before we're ready based on my vague glimpses of the future. It's better to let things occur naturally."

Seamus and Dean grumbled a bit, looking dissatisfied, but they didn't push the issue. Neville just nodded in understanding. Ron, along with the rest of the Weasley's, had already gotten that talk, so he just nodded as well. 

"Anyway!" Harry said, looking to change the topic, "what are you looking forward to the most?"

"Just learning magic in general," Dean said, "I didn't know I was a wizard until the Hogwarts letter came."

"I-I guess I'd like to see the greenhouses," Neville said, somewhat embarrassed by his love for horticulture.

"Definitely the quidditch matches!" Seamus said excitedly.

"Yeah! It sucks we can't bring our own brooms this year," Ron complained.

From there, the conversation took off about quidditch. Dean didn't know what it was, and was immediately sat down to have it explained to him by Ron and Seamus. Neither Harry nor Neville cared all that much about the game, so they ended up turning in early.

Harry took a quick bath, changed into his pajamas, and closed the curtains on the canopy bed for privacy.

~ ITW, H ~

His dreams that night were clear.

He watched as an older version of himself walked through some sort of cave system. He was illuminated by a few floating lumos lights, one floating ahead of him, one above, and one behind, to light up the area. Along the ground, there was a small stream of water coming from the direction he was heading, flowing unnaturally up the sloped cave floor. Surprisingly, instead of a wand, he held an ornate sword with a golden hilt of two manticores at the ready. 

Cutting through the silence, was an alien clicking and shrieks coming from down further in the cave. Older Harry's face grimaced, as if he knew what was ahead, and didn't like it one bit.

With that, the dream faded. In its place wasn't a dream, but a memory.

Harry was back in Godric's Hollow. He had been crying in his crib from all of the loud crashes and bangs and yelling, when his mom came in. She looked terrified, but she quickly came to his side, crouching down to eye level with him. He stopped crying, comforted by her presence.

She picked him up, holding him to her chest and whispered to her son, "Harry, Harry you are so loved. So loved. Harry, your momma loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong."

"Avada Kedavra!" A man shouted from somewhere downstairs, and all the noises downstairs ceased. A look of grief came over Lily's face as she choked back a sob, tears trailed down her cheeks. She tried to smile for Harry, but it came out more sorrowful than anything.

"Grow up strong and healthy, Harry. Find someone you can love with all your heart. Be happy, my sweet boy. I love you." Lily kissed him on the forehead, whether it was a coincidence or not, it was where his future scar would be.

The door to the room blasted open, revealing Voldemort. He wasn't the snake-like being from the movies. Instead, one could almost call him handsome, if it weren't for the hateful sneer and malevolent red eyes. 

Lily quickly placed him back into his crib and whirled around, placing herself between the man and Harry.

"NO! Not Harry, Please! Not Harry!" She begged desperately.

"Stand aside, foolish girl!" Voldemort demanded.

"No! Please, not Harry! Kill me instead!" Lily cried, her voice wracked with sobs. "Please, have mercy!"

"I said stand aside!"

Lily took a deep breath, steadying herself, before firmly saying, "Never!"

"Avada Kedavra!" 

Lily screamed and crumpled to the ground. Baby Harry didn't truly understand what had happened to her at the time, but he didn't like seeing his mother lay there.

As Voldemort's wand turned towards him, Harry jolted awake. In a blind panic, he scrambled to grab his wand and glasses.

He looked around, gasping for breath. He was in his dorm room at Hogwarts. Harry couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Ever since the "memory syncing" when he got his system, that memory haunted him. That dream always made him wake up in a panic and left him in a terrible mood. 

Yet, at the same time, it brought him closer to his late mother. Was it any wonder he loved her, when he saw her sacrifice herself for him again and again? His heart ached at the memory.

"Tempus," Harry murmured quietly. From the tip of his wand appeared "5:20." This was one of the non-canon spells that he was glad actually existed here. Harry groaned and flopped back down onto his pillow. There was no way that he would be able to fall asleep, so he begrudgingly went to get ready for the day.

After he showered and dressed, he went into his trunk, in the library section, and sat at his desk there.

He pulled out a book on dream interpretation—he had bought it when he first got the Seer perk—and began reading. The dream about him exploring in the cave was definitely a prophetic one. It was the clearest one he had gotten since he began having them. It may be because this was the first night here in Hogwarts. It was a significant point in his journey as a wizard, so Fate may have sent this dream as a "gift."

Eventually, Harry made his way downstairs to the common room. He left behind his four roommates who were still sleeping. While he was good friends with Ron, he wasn't about to nanny him, making sure he got up early in the mornings. It was still 6:30, so there were still two hours left until breakfast closed, so if Ron wanted to sleep in a little, there was nothing wrong with that. Harry just preferred to have a little time in the mornings before everything started.

In the common room, he saw Percy and Mabel sitting in separate parts of the room, and Hermione. She was sitting next to the fireplace, on a large loveseat.

When he came down, Hermione was too engrossed in her book to notice him right away, so he went over to Percy.

"Good morning, Harry," Percy said, and he dug into his robe pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Here's your schedule for the term. Be sure to memorize it!"

Harry just took the schedule with a nod and went over to Hermione. When Percy had broken the silence, she did notice him, but waited for him to come to her.

Harry sat down on the large loveseat next to her, leaning against her shoulder. "Good morning, Hermione," He said, trying to sound excited.

She frowned. "Are you okay?"

He just nodded. "Just a bad dream is all. I'll be okay. How'd your first night go?

Hermione pouted a little. "Terrible. We were all placed in the same room, can you believe that? Six girls in one room is far too many! Worse, they don't seem to like me at all!"

"Yeah, all of us boys were placed in the same room as well. You'd think with how empty the castle is, we'd have our own rooms, but I think they want to help us build camaraderie quicker. Why do you say they don't like you?"

"Well, we were talking about things we were looking forward to, and I started talking about visiting the library and they called me a bookworm and ignored me," Hermione sighed.

Harry gave her a side hug. "Don't fret about it too much, Hermione. Remember what we talked about? You don't have to try to please everybody. As long as you're genuine, the people that matter will notice."

"I know. It still hurts, though." She bit her lip and looked away sadly. Over the course of the last month before Hogwarts, Harry had gotten to know her more, and she had shared with him how she had a hard time at various different schools for bullying. She was hoping that here at a magical school, things would turn out differently.

He tried to take her mind off of it. "Hey, you know what? We've got some time before classes start. How about we go grab a quick breakfast and try to find that library?"

She brightened up and hopped out of the chair, pulling him along. "Let's go!" 

They quickly made their way down to the great hall. There were only a handful of students awake at this hour, mostly the older students, and they were scattered around the long tables going through their mail or reading a newspaper as they ate. As they sat down at the Gryffindor's table, a wide selection of breakfast foods appeared. Eggs, bacon, sausage, different fruits, toast, pancakes, waffles, and so on.

Harry made himself a waffle sandwich with eggs and sausage, and maple syrup as a sauce, and a cup of coffee. Hermione grabbed some pancakes and fruit.

Professor McGonagall was at the staff's table, and she came down to greet them. "Good morning, Mr. Potter. I have a message for you from the headmaster. He wishes to meet with you after classes end today. The headmaster's office is on the seventh floor, behind the gargoyle statue. The password is Licorice Wand."

With that, McGonagall returned to the staff table. 

Hermione turned to him in worry. "Are you okay? You're not in trouble, are you?"

"No, nothing like that. Professor Dumbledore is a family friend, he probably just wants to check in with me to see how my first day at Hogwarts goes," Harry guessed. "Besides, I have something I need to talk to him about as well."

Just then, Hedwig came swooping into the Great Hall, landing in front of him. She presented the letters she was carrying, which Harry traded for several pieces of bacon and sausage. "Good morning, Hedwig!"

There was a huge bundle of letters, from many people around Magical Britain. When the bloodwards around the Dursley's had collapsed, so did the anti-mail ward. Dumbledore didn't want any cursed mail to slip through to him, so he diverted all mail to himself. When Harry began living with Sirius, they had all sifted through the stacks of mail together. He hadn't wanted to do it, but Arcturus had insisted that he needed to address this problem.

Ever since then, he had been getting mail from random people wishing him the best. Or cursing his name.

There were only 3 letters he cared about. One from Dora, one from Ginny and Luna, and one from Sirius. They were all basically just wishing him well starting the school year. However, as he went to open Sirius's letter, as soon as he broke the wax seal on the envelope, a puff of smoke blew all over him! Shocked, Harry quickly went about examining himself, but couldn't find anything wrong. No multicolored hair or robes, no bulbous features, anything. Which somehow made Harry more nervous as to what that smoke actually did to him.

'Drat!' Harry cursed himself. He really wasn't expecting Sirius to do anything on the first day of classes! Which, admittedly, was the best time for it.

"What was that!" Hermione coughed, clearing away the smoke from her face. It looked like she was hit with some of the smoke as well.

Harry sighed, hoping this prank wouldn't be too bad, since it now involved Hermione. "I'm not sure. It looks like Sirius just pulled a prank on us, though I'm not sure what it did yet. I guess we'll just have to find out later. It's likely timed to go off sometime during the day, or set to trigger when we say something in particular."

Her face paled. Unfortunately for the Grangers, they had been victims of one of Sirius's pranks on one of their visits to Grimmauld place, though it was meant only for Remus and Harry. Sirius hadn't been expecting them to come with guests. "Can you undo it, before it's too late?"

Harry shook his head. "Sorry, Hermione, if it was a spell, I may be able to finite it to dispel it, but this was a powder that we inhaled. It'll just have to run its course. I'm sorry."

Harry checked the letter.

Dear Plumes,

Don't worry, it'll only last a couple of hours. Good luck!

Padfoot

Plumes was, of course, his Marauder's nickname, being a bird and all. It was suggested by Remus. It was much better than birdbrain or beaky, suggested by Sirius and Dora respectively.

Hopps was Dora's Marauder's nickname, which Harry himself gave. It was inspired by Judy Hopps. It was just too good to pass up. Both were police officers—of a sort—and both were rabbits!

After breakfast, they wandered the castle looking for the library. They ended up having to ask some of the portraits and some older students that were already about before they could find it. The castle was huge, and they ended up getting lost.

When they finally found the library, Harry cursed himself. They had to head outside and cross a large bridge to get to the Central Hall, which is the main hub of Hogwarts. Harry made a note to himself to get the Marauder's Map from the twins as soon as possible.

Central Hall was a huge chamber, with towering columns and arches. In the center was a fountain, with statues depicting mermaids, which were swimming around in a circle. Goblins holding up a platform which had a unicorn fighting a werewolf. To the left was another large marble staircase. To the right, was a beautiful wooden portico inlaid in gold, which had the doors to the library. There, the school motto was shown: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon. On the wall above the portico, was a large stone relief carving of a sleeping dragon. The dragon would occasionally shift in its sleep.

They entered the library to reveal a cavernous room filled from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. The library itself must have been three stories tall, and he could see walkways up above. Large chandeliers hung from the rafters of the room, along the main center foyer to give light everywhere. Framed by the bookshelves on the opposite end of the room, was a grand arching window with two spiral staircases leading up to the upper floors Hermione gasped, grabbing his arm as she stared wondrously at the room. She instantly fell in love with the place, all worries of pranks were forgotten. "Oh, Harry! Look at this place!"

Harry couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

Madam Pince was there behind her desk, giving them a suspicious glare. She was a thin woman, with sunken cheeks, skin way too pale, and a hooked nose. She gave off the impression of a gaunt vulture.

They began wandering through the bookshelves to familiarize themselves with the layout. Here on the ground floor, the bookshelves seemed to organize themselves into blocks, with spiral columns on the ends. Large tables were placed in the aisles between. On the upper floors, all of the bookshelves had a thin table at their base, so that students could pull out a book and sit down right there to read.

The restricted section was placed at the back of the library on each floor. Unlike what Harry was expecting, it was not gated off behind a locked door. Instead, it was simply roped off from the rest of the shelves.

While Hermione opened up a book she had found interesting, Harry took a look at his schedule.

Today was their heaviest day of classes. First was Transfiguration, then Charms, Lunch, History, and Herbology. Each class was 45 minutes long, starting at 9:00, and ending at 4:00 in the evening. In reality, aside from Mondays, there seemed to only be 2-3 classes a day. astronomy was only once a week, on Wednesdays beginning at 10 and ending at midnight. But there were plenty of "study halls" and free periods. Study Hall was basically a mandatory study time

"Tempus," Harry said softly. 7:35. They had about an hour or so before they had to make their way out to the study hall, so Harry just pulled out his own book to read.

Transfiguration was the first class of the day, at 11, but seeing as how he's already gone through this year's Transfiguration list, he didn't feel the need to brush up on them. The first-year charms were rather simple. Instead, Harry continued reading his book on Divination and Dream Interpretations.

Apparently, Uagadou, the main magical school in Africa, sends out their invitations through dreams. Very fascinating. It reminded him of the dream realm he met the deities in.

The two enjoyed a quiet hour of reading in each other's company, before they had to make their way to their first class.