When we finally got to the train he handed me my shrunken trunk. "When you want to get into your trunk, simply set it down and tap it with your wand three times." He smiled "Now go and have a pleasant train ride. The friends that you make here will last a lifetime. I will see you when you get to school." With that last piece of wisdom he turned around and left, I turned toward the train taking it all in. While it was similar to the movie it was more magical, the lights for instance were pure magical balls of light. I pushed through the crowds while trying not to get distracted by all the strange things around me.
When I finally made it on the train I started to search for a cabin to sit in. I saw a lot of older students greeting each other after the summer break. Most were hugging or cracking jokes, but when I looked closer I realized that some of the oldest students were grouped together whispering about something. They were careful to stop talking whenever some of the younger students wandered by. I shrugged and went to find a cabin to sit in, after all the older students aren't going to share all their secrets with a little firsty.
I made it halfway down the train before I was able to find an empty compartment, after unshrinking my trunk I put it under my seat and sat down. It was difficult to stay still as I could not wait for the train to get moving. I wanted to grab a book from my trunk but I knew I should wait and maybe I will be able to spend the train ride making friends instead. My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening.
"May I sit here?" A girl my age asked, I nodded. After she sat down we sat staring at each other for a minute. I was nervous and didn't know what to say, so I said the first thing that came to mind: "So... nice weather we're having." I never was good at making friends and my sheer awkwardness made me blush. The comment got me a raised eyebrow. "Really, one chance to make a first impression and that's what you go with?' Both of us were only able to keep a straight face for a couple of seconds before we both started to laugh.
"My name's Tom Riddle'' I said after I stopped laughing. "Marie Longbottom, what house do you think you'll end up in? I'm hoping for Ravenclaw myself." I smiled at that, "I'm probably going to be a Ravenclaw as well. I'm a muggleborn and I just found out about magic, it's all so interesting and it sounds like it would take several lifetimes to learn about it all." That really set the pace for the rest of the trip. There were a couple of times that our door was opened but no one ever entered. We both talked about our opinions on different types of magic. I told her about trying to control my magic without a wand. She told me some things about her family history.
The Longbottoms went all the way back to the time of the Vikings and had many interesting magics that they have passed down over the years. They started out very battle oriented but branched out into Druidic practices when the Romans invaded Britain. We talked for a long time, only stopping when the trolley came by. We both got some lunch and tried to finish as quickly as possible so we could get back to our discussion.
I learned a lot from talking with her, and she was very interested in the new perspective I could give. While we both didn't hate muggles we were of the opinion that they hadn't caught up in quality of life. By the time we had to change into our uniforms I had already gotten an invitation to Longbottom Hall for Yule. When I commented on the fact that we seemed to connect very quickly I got a surprising answer. "Oh I thought you knew, it's the train. Every year every student takes the train. There are certainly faster ways to travel. But there are benefits to riding the train. The best part about the journey are the people you talk to during it. There is a strategic class divination enchantment on the train that will literally guide you to meet people. The connections we make on the train will last a lifetime."
I sat there, stunned for a moment before regaining my wits. "What do you mean by a strategic class enchantment?" I asked. I hadn't found anything in my books about different classes of magic. Marie hesitated trying to find a way to explain it. "It's not like it's a secret or anything so I guess telling you would be ok." I leaned forward, this sounded like something not many people knew about.
"You know how there are many different fields of magic. Well, during the time of Atlantis they came up with a system that could grade magic by strength. The first level is Action class, also called level one spells. Action class magic is very simple, instead of lifting a feather with your hand you use a spell. Any spell that has one direct effect is action class. We will learn only action class magic during our first 5 years of schooling."
"The next class is called battle class magic. This type of magic has two categories, level 2 spells that have bigger effects than level one spells. The other type is called layered spells, we won't be learning these until our NEWTs. These spells tap into concepts like fluid transfiguration, not to be confused for liquid transfiguration, or dimensional magic."
"The third class is called tactical class magic. Only magical titans are able to perform this type of magic on their own. Usually groups of wizards or witches gather together to perform these spells. There are a lot of dark tactical class spells as sacrificial magic is for the most part tactical class. The most famous instance of tactical class magic is when Merlin overcharged a patronus to repel a thousand of Morgan Le Fay's nightmare creatures."
"All higher types of magic have to have some sort of external power source, usually ambient magic. It cannot be sacrificial magic as if someone uses too many sacrifices resentment will build up, and there will be a large backlash. The purveyors of sacrificial magic taught us that the backlash can be delayed but never stopped. The muggles still don't know what happened to the Aztecs after all."
"The higher classes of magic are called strategic, war, national, continental, and world class. Throughout history world class magic has only been used twice. The first is called the Advent of Magic. It was when the planet itself introduced magic to some of the creatures living on the earth at the time. This was about 200,000 years ago. Humans were not one of the creatures gifted with magic. But over time we adapted it and made it our own."
"The second time world class magic was used was after the statue of secrecy was established. It's called the veil, it separates our world from the muggles. We wanted to hide from them so they would stop hunting our children. So every magical community worked together to bring about the veil. I don't know exactly how it works but the results speak for themselves. Unless a magician shows a muggle magic with intent, the muggle will not see it and even then it will fade from their minds in a matter of days. That is why despite muggleborns being born into non magical families the secret of magic has not gotten out."
I sat there thinking about everything that she told me until the train stopped a few minutes later. I could not imagine the level of magic that went into making the veil. Someday I wanted to be able to do magic like that. I knew it would be very difficult and I was just starting to understand just how much I had to learn. This world was much bigger than the one I read about and that is not taking into account the pale man from the street.
The walk and subsequent boat ride to get to the school was amazing. There were small lights that lit up our path, ranging from the size of a pea to a tennis ball. They were zipping around as though they were just as excited as the rest of us. When we arrived at the dock Hagrid told us to get four in a boat. Two boys sat across from Marie and I. They didn't speak much and were too busy looking around them to try and see everything at once. Not that I could blame them, if my head moved any faster it would probably pop off.
Ten minutes into the boat ride we came around the bend and there it was. Hogwarts, in all its magnificent glory. Nothing could have prepared me to see it and no description could do it justice. It stood a monument in time, just by looking at it you could almost "see" memories that the castle had of the thousands of students that had passed through these halls. "Is the castle alive?" I asked without expecting an answer. "There is still some debate about that but the overall opinion is that yes it is alive. Hogwarts is an artifact that the founders poured all their knowledge into. Over time it became aware."
We were both silent for the rest of the way, simply observing the castle. We were awoken from our trance when the boat hit the shore. After blinking a few times we all got out of our boats and followed the caretaker to the door. It must have been twenty feet high with beautiful metal inlay. They looped and twisted in strange designs, I briefly pondered if they had any sort of magical purpose. When the door opened we were greeted by Dumbledore's smiling face.
"Come in, come in, it is time for the sorting." He waved us through the small opening in the doors before explaining what was going to happen next. "The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. When you enter the great hall, walk straight down the center. When your name is called come up to the front to be sorted when you are done go to the table with your matching colors. Any questions?"
No one answered, either they didn't have a question or they were too nervous to ask them. "Alright then, wait here and when the doors open come in." With that he walked away, though soon after the doors opened and we all marched in. The great hall, while not as breathtaking as the view outside, was still a sight to see. The light came from a thousand floating candles, but that wasn't even the best part. The ceiling captured my attention as it was the most extraordinary piece of magic I had ever seen. Stars like you never would have been able to see with your own eyes were displayed up there. The entirety of the night sky was visible. There were a million stars in a hundred different colors. "...ddle, Tom Riddle, if you could tear your attention from the ceiling it is your turn."
With a blush I realized that I had been standing there gaping like a fool. I quickly walked up the hat and put it on my head. Ah yes, one of you...let's see plenty of courage to face injustice, loyalty to spare but only to those who have earned it, ambition to rival the greatest but not just for yourself. Oh ho...there we are, out of all your traits a thirst for knowledge that will never die out. "RAVENCLAW" with the shout came thunderous applause. I walked over to the table with blue banners and sat next to Marie. "Got lost in the clouds?" She asked with a smirk. I blushed again "Never seen the sky like that before, it's breathtaking. Someday I want to be able to go and explore all the stars in the sky." She just stared at me when I said that. "Well you're certainly in the right house, Ravenclaw has a lot of dreamers."
I spent the feast getting to know my housemates, there were 15 people in my year 8 girls and 7 boys. We all enjoyed talking about what types of magic we were most excited to learn, most were excited for transfiguration or potions. The teachers of those classes were the most popular in the school by far. Dumbledore raised the average level of transfiguration to heights that hadn't even been dreamed of before and his lessons were more like stories than lectures. Slughorn was more popular with the older students due to the parties he held, but the younger students liked his jolly nature as well. Only Marie and I were excited about everything, most had a class or two they were dreading, history was a big one.
As we talked, we ate until our stomachs felt like it would burst if we took another bite and then opened our second stomachs for dessert and ate some more. By the end of the meal I was barely keeping my eyes open and Marie was not much better. We trudged up the stairs to the tower and went our separate ways, promising to meet up in the morning when we were not afraid of falling asleep on our feet. I went to the boys' dorms and looked up, unfortunately the first years had to climb seven flights of stairs to get to their rooms. I forced myself to climb and by the time I made it I was dead on my feet.
I opened the door and looked around the room, it was pretty basic, a bed, wardrobe, and a desk with a small bookshelf attached to the sides and back. My trunk was at the bottom of my bed, when I opened it and grabbed some pajamas I was surprised by the neatness. I wasn't the best packer and my trunk now looked like it was packed by a perfectionist. After I changed I climbed into bed and as I layed there I thought of the possibilities. I was going to learn everything I could and then take it further than anyone has done before. My eyes grew heavy as I dreamed of the future, my last thought was not about the magic I would be learning but the friend I made. A smile formed as I fell asleep, I finally had a friend.