Chapter 18— Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment and Tweak

~Fun Fact: Did you know that when Ron enters Harry compartment in the train he says everywhere else is full which cant be true as the train had to carry way more children before the wars and even if the amount stayed the same, with space-expansion charms there should never have been any problems, at least space-wise.

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The hall was filled with murmuring as Harry strode up to the stool. He sat down and Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head. The whispering ceased.

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(Harry's POV)

"Oh an interesting one you are..." Said a voice.

'Um, who is this?' I thought, confused as the voice sounded in my head.

"That would be me, the Sorting Hat." The hat replied. "Now, I see ambition, yes lots of ambition. The need to prove yourself to your friend, Yan. But there's also bravery and a drive for knowledge as well as a fierce loyalty within you. But tell me, where do you want to go?"

'Put me in Hufflepuff, please.' I thought desperately.

"Are you sure that is what you truly want?"

That made me stop and think. I remembered Neville's parents in St. Mungo's and all the times I had been hit by Vernon Dursley. It was then, that one sentence formed in my head.

'I want to be strong.'

I felt the hat smile as it uttered a final sentence before being taken off my head.

"Well, in that case, You would do well in —SLYTHERIN!"

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(Yan's POV)

There's was complete silence inside the hall before the Slytherin table errupted in cheers and clapping. Harry got up from the stool and walked over to the Slytherin table, his robes turning a dark green as the Slytherin symbol appeared on his chest. He took a seat next to Daphne and Tracey. I waved at him, noticing my greeting, he waved back and then turned to speak to the other Slytherin first years.

The many conversations in the hall were stopped though as Albus Dumbledore, the man himself, got up to speak.

"Welcome," he said, smiling at us. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Now is not the time for eloquent speeches but before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Neville, who was sitting on my right side, turned to me, somewhat bemused.

"Err, is he okay?" Asked Neville. "Those words made no sense at all."

"I couldn't say Nev." I replied. "But considering he's still the Headmaster, he has to be at least sane, right?"

"I guess so..." Replied Neville, not sounding convinced.

Our conversation was interrupted as mountains of food began to appear on our plates. And although greasy, I was never one to refuse free food. And boy was there a lot of it. In front of me there was roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, an assortment of cakes, custard and best of all, chocolate mousse. However, after growing up with my mother's Arab food for all my life, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

'English cuisine is just not it, huh?' I thought.

But being the glutton I was, I didn't complain as I began to pile my plate with vegetables, beef and a little gravy. I looked around only to see a certain redhead stuffing his face as if he had just come out from a famine.

'Ugh, gross...' I thought. 'But at least he's eating well...'

I turned back to by plate and began to eat, stopping once every so often to talk to my fellow first years.

*****

I had finished my meal and was eating a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate mousse when Dumbledore got up to speak to us once more.

"Now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked in the direction of who I could only assume to be the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, for the four hundred and sixty third time, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes, specifically in the corridors."

There was some laughter at this, mainly from the Gryffindor table.

"Quidditch trials will be held during the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a horrible death."

A few people laughed nervously at this but the majority were silent.

"He's never told us anything like this before." Said the fifth year Hufflepuff prefect, Gabriel Truman.

"Really? That's odd." I replied, feigning ignorance.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore, going from Headmaster to ditzy old man in the span of a second.

I looked around as the Professors' smiles froze on their faces.

Dumbledore brought out the Elder Wand and waved it as a trail of golden light came out of it, twisting and turning in front of us, eventually forming words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

To say the least, the song was complete torture to listen to. Everybody had picked different tunes and they all clashed. I decided at once that I would mouth the words instead.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Everybody finished the song at different times. The Weasley twins were the only ones left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

As everyone began to get up, I turned to Truman and spoke in a voice loud enough for the people around me to hear.

"Have none of you realised that the school song literally insults you all? "Our brains could do with some filling?" "They're bare and full of air, dead flies, and bits of fluff?"

My comment was followed by the laughter of a single person. I turned to see who it was. In front of me stood a tall boy with grey eyes and brown hair. He could be described as incredibly handsome and was currently clutching his stomach with one hand on the table, laughing. When he was finished, he looked at me with eyes full of curiosity.

"You're a funny one, aren't you? That's not what most people focus on after hearing the travesty that we call a school song." He said, smiling. "Anyways, I'm Cedric. Cedric Diggory, a third year. And you?"

To say I was surprised was an understatement. I had completely forgotten Cedric existed until this very moment.

"I'm Aayan Barak. But call me Yan. Nice to meet you." I said, nodding at him.

He nodded back as everyone began to walk out of the hall.

"Alright, First years!" Said Truman, clapping his hands. "Follow me!"

We, being the first years and I, followed Truman out of the hall and through the crowds of students. We walked down a corridor and past a painting of a fruit bowl as Truman stopped in front of a pile of barrels.

"The Hufflepuff common room is entered from the pile of large barrels" Said Truman. "The barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, will open if tapped in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. As a security device to repel non-Hufflepuffs, tapping on the wrong barrel, or tapping the incorrect number of times, results in one of the other lids bursting off and drenching you in vinegar so beware."

He tapped the barrel and a sloping, earthy passage opened on its inside.

"Well little first years, who's going to be brave and go down first?" He asked, smiling teasingly at us.

No-one around me seemed too thrilled to go down the the barrel.

"Eh, sure why not?" I said as I stepped forward and entered the passage.

I crawled upwards a little way until I was met with a cosy, round, low-ceilinged room. The room was decorated in the cheerful, bee-like colours of yellow and black. The tables were honey-coloured wood and so were the round doors which lead to the boys' and girls' dormitories. There were a variety of plants on circular wooden shelves that waved at me.

A portrait over the wooden mantelpiece shows Helga Hufflepuff, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School, toasting her students with a tiny, two-handled golden cup. Underneath the portrait was a fireplace emitting a welcoming warmth. The windows were small and round, level with the ground at the foot of the castle. The current time notwithstanding, the Hufflepuff common room gave me the impression that it was constantly sunny in here.

Eventually, everyone had come down the passage way and all the first years were sitting around the fire as Gabriel Truman wanted to talk to us.

"Hello everyone!" He said, giving us a friendly smile. "For those of you who don't know, I'm Gabriel Truman a fifth year here at Hogwarts and one of your prefects. Let me be the first to say, Welcome to the Hufflepuff House!"

There was a collective and quiet thank you from everyone as he laughed at our shyness.

"Contrary to popular idea that we are useless fools, Hufflepuff embodies patience and loyalty and many great witches and wizards have come from our house such as Newt Scamander and Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. That should be proof enough to you that just because you're a Hufflepuff, doesn't mean you are inept. There are many people here who are willing to help out if you just ask. Any questions?"

I had one.

"Do you know when we'll get our timetables?" I asked him.

"You'll get them tomorrow morning. Our head of house, Professor Sprout will come around with them at breakfast. She's a lovely person so don't worry. I once got into trouble for dueling in my third year and should have gotten detention for a week but instead, she let me off with a warning and a box of iced coconut."

No one had anymore questions so he sent us to our respective dormitories.

The boys' dormitory was akin to a corridor with doors on either side. There were six boys in the first year Hufflepuff cohort so we were all put together in a room with 3 bunk beds.

"I call dibs on the bottom bunk!" I said running over to the bottom bunk on the right side of the room.

I threw my suitcase on it and sat on the mattress.

"Oh, guess I've got top then." Said Neville, climbing up the ladder to the top bunk.

The other bottom bunk was taken by Ernie Macmillan and the top bunk by Justin Finch-Fletchley. And the last bunk bed was occupied by Wayne Hopkins and Zacharias Smith.

"Hey everyone, I'm Aayan Barak but you can call me Yan. This here is my friend Neville. Nice to meet you." I said.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley." Said Justin.

After him a blond boy spoke up, grinning at us. "And I'm Ernest Macmillan, but you can call me Ernie."

"I'm Zacharias Smith." Said another blond boy. This one however, was not friendly and had a look of arrogance about him.

"Nice too meet you everyone, I'm Wayne Hopkins!" Said a cheerful, freckled, ginger boy with brown eyes.

"What lessons are you looking forward to the most?" I asked them, not wanting to make it awkward.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts." Said Ernie.

'Oh boy...' I thought.

"Transfiguration." Said Justin

'That's a nice class.'

"Herbology." Said Neville, making me smirk.

"I'm looking forward to Transfiguration and Charms." I said.

"I'm partial to Potions." Said Zacharias.

'Oof...' I thought. 'His hopes and dreams are going to be crushed rather quickly.'

"I'm looking forward to Charms too" Wayne said, smiling at me.

"Ah, always nice to meet another Charms enthusiast." I said. "Did you guys know you were wizards or did you find out recently?"

"I'm Muggleborn so I didn't know I was a wizard until recently. I was even down for Eton until my Hogwarts letter came in. My mum's kind of sceptical of Hogwarts but I'm happy I came here instead. It seems so much more fun." Said Justin.

"Eton? The expensive private school Eton?!" I said as Justin nodded in confirmation. "Damn! I'm a Half-blood, my mum's a Muggleborn and my dad's a Pureblood. I knew about magic growing up but I went to primary school and all. How about you guys?"

"I live with my gran." Said Neville. "My family thought that I was a squib. That's a magical person who can't use magic by the way. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased and you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come here. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad, Trevor."

'Ha! More like he felt guilty for nearly killing you.' I thought but didn't voice my thoughts out loud.

"Wait he did what?!" Said Justin and Wayne, shocked.

Injuries that would be deemed serious in the Muggle world, were trivial at best in the magical one since they could be healed after downing a potion. That was why Neville never really understood the severity of his Great Uncle Algie's actions.

"He... dropped me out of a window?" Repeated Neville, bemused at the boys' reaction.

"Nev, in the Muggle world, broken bones and other such injuries take months to heal. There are also laws preventing adults from doing things like that to children. If you were in the Muggle world, your Uncle Algie would be in big trouble."

'Big trouble? If you mean prison that is.'

"Oh! That makes sense then." Said Neville.

"Anyways, it's best that we go to sleep." I said. "We've got our first classes tomorrow. Anyways I'm going to go shower."

"But why?!" Exclaimed my roommates.

"Did you see the state of that hat?" I replied, snorting. "There's no way I'm not showering after that."

I walked to my suitcase; grabbed my towel, pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and entered the bathroom. It then occured to me that I could use cleaning charms to clean myself in the future.

'Oh my god, this changes everything!'

*****

The next morning, all the first year Hufflepuffs were sitting together at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall when Professor Sprout came around handing everyone their timetables. Eventually, she put my timetable in front of me.

"Thank you, Professor Sprout!" I said.

"You're very much welcome my dear." She said, smiling at me.

I looked down at my timetable.

HUFFLEPUFF FIRST YEAR TIMETABLE:

Breakfast is at 7:30 am till 8:50 am.

Lunch is at 11:45 am till 12:45 pm.

Dinner is at 7:35 pm till 8:35 pm.

Lights out is at 10:00 pm.

MONDAY

Class 1: 9:00 am till 9:45 am: Free Period

Class 2: 9:55 am till 10:40 am: Free Period

Class 3: 10:50 am till 11:35 am: Charms with Ravenclaw

Class 4: 12:55 pm till 1:40 pm: Free Period

Class 5: 1:50 pm till 2:35 pm: History of Magic

Free Time: 2:45 pm till 7:25 pm

TUESDAY

Class 1: 9:00 am till 9:45 am: Free Period

Class 2: 9:55 am till 10:40 am: Free Period

Class 3: 10:50 am till 11:35 am: Defense Against the Dark Arts

Class 4: 12:55 pm till 1:40 pm: Potions with Ravenclaw

Free Time: 1:50 pm till 7:25 pm

WEDNESDAY

Class 1: 9:00 am till 9:45 am: Free Period

Class 2: 9:55 am till 10:40 am: Herbology with Slytherin

Class 3: 10:50 am till 11:35 am: Free Period

Class 4: 12:55 pm till 1:40 pm: Free Period

Class 5: 1:50 pm till 2:35 pm: Potions with Ravenclaw

Class 6: 2:45 pm till 3:30 pm: Potions with Ravenclaw

Free Time: 3:40 pm till 7:25 pm

Class 7: 12:10 am till 12:55 am: Astronomy with all houses.

THURSDAY

Class 1: 9:00 am till 9:45 am: Potions with Ravenclaw

Class 2: 9:55 am till 10:40 am: Transfiguration with Gryffindor

Class 3: 10:50 am till 11:35 am: Free Period

Class 4: 12:55 pm till 1:40 pm: Magical Theory with Slytherin

Class 5: 1:50 pm till 2:35 pm: Free Period

Class 6: 2:45 pm till 3:30 pm: Free Period

Class 7: 3:40 pm till 4:25 pm: Flying

Free Time: 4:35 pm till 7:25 pm

FRIDAY

9:00 am till 11:35 pm: Free Time

Class 1: 12:55 pm till 1:40 pm: Charms with Ravenclaw

Free Time: 1:50 pm till 7:25 pm

SATURDAY

Quidditch Game: 2:45 pm till end of game.

SUNDAY

Free Day

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I was free for my first lesson. I couldn't help but smile as I took a bite out of my scrambled eggs and toast.

'I am most definitely going to the Room of Requirement.' I thought as I quickly wolfed down my breakfast.

I looked around for Cedric, who was sitting at the far end of the table. Walking up to him, I tapped his shoulder as he turned to me.

"Oh, hello Yan!" He said. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you know where the seventh floor is?" I asked him, putting on my best child impression.

"Aww~ look at this cutie." Said a third year Hufflepuff girl. "Of course Ced'll show you after he eats, won't you?" She said looking expectantly at Cedric.

"Sure, but I have a class first period so we'll have to go quickly. Why do you want to go there anyways?" He asked.

"I'm free for my first period so I'm going exploring!" I said, grinning.

"Huh, I see!" He said, smiling back at me. "Well, give me a minute. I'll finish up and then take you."

*****

Cedric took me up to the seventh floor and ran off saying he didn't want to be late for class.

'Time to look for good old Barnabas the Barmy.'

I wandered down the right side of corridor looking for the tapestry of Barnabas teaching trolls ballet. Once I found it, I glanced at it and gave the tapestry a wry smile.

'Why would he waste his time doing something like this?' I thought. 'I guess he's called barmy for a reason...'

I walked opposite the tapestry and over to the left side of the corridor.

'This must be where it is.'

I walked up and down with a single thought.

'I want to find every Golden Galleon dropped in Hogwarts.'

After my third pass at the wall. A door appeared as I opened it. My mind was completely blown by what was before me.

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