The New Hogwarts
Harry stepped out of the front door of his house wearing a genuinely irritated—and slightly dangerous—expression, enough that even Sirius, who had dragged him out of bed, instinctively took a step back as they walked toward the front garden.
His danger level rose by several stages whenever he had just woken up. To the point that, if on a normal day people called him a villain or a great villain when he got angry, then perhaps now only the title of Demon King could truly match the aura he was giving off.
"It's very early, so I hope this is important," Harry said, his eyes flashing a magical shade of red for a brief moment as they locked onto Sirius. There was no need for threats or warnings.
Right now, Harry himself was the threat.
"Well... uh... I think it is important," Sirius said, though for a moment he sounded far less confident than usual after seeing his godson like this. "Come with me. The others are waiting," he added, gathering his courage as he motioned for Harry to place a hand on his shoulder so they could Apparate.
Harry stared at him without a trace of emotion before placing a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
Though perhaps he used a little more strength than necessary, because Sirius suddenly felt as if a mechanical claw were crushing his shoulder.
Still, with all his willpower, he tried not to react, forcing a smile before Apparating and taking Harry with him.
As always, Apparition—and most magical methods of transportation—were absolutely awful.
It felt as though your body were being stretched in every direction at once and forced through the eye of a needle.
No matter how skilled you were with the spell, there was only one way to deal with it.
Nothing.
Just endure it.
The moment they appeared on the other side, wherever Sirius had brought him, it took Harry only a second or two to recover from the dizziness that method of travel always caused.
But he immediately noticed he wasn't alone.
Three other people were already waiting in front of him, and just like Harry, they all wore tired, irritated expressions as they stared up at the sky, where dawn was only beginning to break.
"You too?" Harry asked as he recognized Draco, Hermione, and Daphne.
The three of them nodded at the same time.
Sirius had better have a very good reason for this.
Because annoying those four at the same time could lead to some very painful consequences.
And they'd already proven they could be very, very vindictive.
"Good. Now that everyone's here, it's time to explain why I brought you all out," Sirius said with a smile, completely ignoring the murderous looks the four teenagers were giving him.
"By the way... where are we?" Hermione asked, looking around and realizing they were standing atop a wide grassy hill.
From there, they could see more rolling hills, part of the Forbidden Forest, and in the distance, the mountains surrounding Hogwarts.
"Oh, we're south of Hogwarts. I just found a nearby hill with a good view," Sirius replied with a grin.
"And why are we here?" Draco asked bluntly.
"You all received your Hogwarts letters and your book lists already, right?"
The four of them nodded, still having no idea where he was going with this.
"Then I thought it was only fair that you be the first students to see it," Sirius said as he slowly raised one hand and pointed behind them.
The four frowned.
They turned around almost at the same time and walked to the edge of the hill.
Then...
They stopped.
Several kilometres away, an enormous white-and-grey structure rose over the landscape, completely dominating the horizon.
The new Hogwarts Castle.
None of the four said a word and stood perfectly still.
Hogwarts still stood before them.
And yet...
It was no longer the same Hogwarts.
The castle had retained almost the exact same size as before, but it looked as though it had been rebuilt from its very foundations.
The old grey stone walls had been replaced with elegant white stone that glowed softly beneath the morning light. The towers still stretched proudly into the sky, though they now appeared more refined and harmonious, with enormous windows and dark blue rooftops that contrasted beautifully against the white stone of the rest of the castle.
The various towers were connected by suspended stone bridges, while enormous balconies overlooked the lake, the mountains, and the Forbidden Forest from almost every part of the castle.
Off to one side stood the new Quidditch pitch.
Far larger and more professional than the old one.
The stands completely surrounded the field and were covered to shield spectators from the wind and rain. Several access towers allowed entry from different levels, while the upper boxes looked ready to host everyone from professors to foreign delegations during future tournaments.
A little farther down stood a small circular stone coliseum.
It wasn't enormous, but it was large enough to host golem battles, magical duels, and other school competitions without having to use the castle's main grounds.
Behind Hogwarts stretched an enormous Magical Creatures Reserve.
Open meadows, small forests, ponds, and rocky areas formed a vast habitat where hippogriffs could be seen wandering freely, several unicorns grazed among the trees, and flocks of magical birds crossed the sky overhead.
At each of the castle's enormous gates, facing north, south, east, and west, gigantic stone statues stood guard over the entrances like ancient sentinels.
For several long seconds...
No one spoke.
"So?" Sirius asked with an enormous, proud grin when none of them seemed capable of speaking. "Even better than Beauxbatons, right?"
"Well... this..." Harry seemed to search for the right words, but they refused to come.
Sirius's proud smile only grew wider.
"Yeah... I think you overdid it," Daphne finally said.
The proud look on Sirius's face cracked just a little.
Still, he seemed convinced they simply needed a bit more time to truly appreciate the sheer scale of the castle.
"Definitely too much," Draco added, nodding with complete seriousness.
"It's... beautiful," Hermione said carefully. "But I don't think Hogwarts has enough students to fill a castle this size. Even the old one wasn't fully occupied."
"And that Quidditch pitch looks like it was built to host an International Cup, not a school," Harry added, slowly shaking his head. "What a waste of money."
"Who's going to clean all of that? Are you planning to enslave the poor house-elves?" Daphne asked, looking at Sirius with open disdain.
"Well..." Sirius began.
He never got the chance to answer.
"That must cost a fortune to maintain. I wonder if the other governors will be willing to pay that much," Draco said.
"How many professors are you planning to hire?" Hermione asked, though she seemed to be the only one genuinely asking.
"Well... like you said, there aren't that many students, so..." Sirius replied, his voice noticeably quieter.
Hermione's expression turned blank.
"Oh..."
Sirius opened his mouth, ready to defend his castle.
But none of them seemed willing to keep listening.
"I'm still sleepy. I'm going home," Harry said, letting out a yawn.
"Dobby."
Draco didn't even bother explaining anything. He simply called for his house-elf to take him home, and the two disappeared with a crack.
"Gris."
"Pipi."
"Laki."
Harry, Hermione, and Daphne did exactly the same.
The four of them vanished one after another.
Only the sounds of Apparition remained.
Sirius stood perfectly still.
He looked at the spot where the four teenagers had been standing only moments ago.
Then he slowly turned back toward the enormous castle, wearing a bewildered expression, as though he had expected a completely different reaction...
...and, in the end, hadn't gotten one at all.