The Wizard Bearer Ch. 5

"Talking" -Normal Voices

"Talking" -Alien Voices

"Talking" Ommitrix Voice

§Talking§ -Parseltongue Voices

Disclaimer: Hermione isn't old enough to be hot yet.

The trunk closed with a finality. Everything was packed and categorized, everything in the room cleaned and placed where they should be. Going back to Diagon Alley a few times since that adventure had made the trunk and the room's bookcase full with both mundane and magical written knowledge. That moment had sparked, well, a spark, that made seeking knowledge, seeking strength all the more important.

So I can never feel that weak again.

Yes, in fact, after that day Hermione Granger had changed. That little girl that went into a forest with whom she assumed would be her very first best friend didn't come back. That moment, that certain feeling when she felt so utterly hopeless made her see how much the world truly sucked.

In truth, she began to see that just being her wasn't bad. She loved being herself, the quirks, the bushy hair, her love for books and her love for order, everything really. Well, except for her teeth, but that was more her parent's fault. But there were things out there that she wasn't in the least prepared to handle.

Magic came as a big shock. Suddenly knowing that she was a witch, well, it was a tough pill to swallow, even more for her parents. They weren't the ones with the abnormality, with the -possible- gene that gave her magical powers, and it dawned on them that for the first time ever they would have to learn about something completely new that their own daughter would learn firsthand in. That they themselves, the ones that had protected her for all her life, could do nothing more than watch as she strived for something that they could never realize, no matter what.

It was a humbling experience for her mother, and after all that she was happy for her daughter, but like said, she worried on how her daughter would survive an entirely new world. Her father… well, she falter on how he really felt. She supposed he was proud, if only slightly. The man didn't expressively hate her magic or even McGonagall as a witch, but she felt that somehow because he hadn't expected this development for her future that something had being stolen from her. Well, for her future that he had planned.

Of course, then came Harry. If there was ever a hurricane on human form that brought 'adventures' wherever it passed, it was Harry Potter.

He hadn't liked that his family had left him behind on the camp, no matter that Harry himself had firmly defended them and tried to hide how horrible they must have really been. She had asked her mother why he had done as such, but never received a straight answer for it.

And her father had found it in himself to give the young boy a small spot on his heart. It came as a surprised to her mother and her, but she guessed that having your daughter protected by a fake earthquake did that to male proud, or some such.

Then… then she had Harry tell them the truth. She stood by his side as he explained on what had really happened, how his daughter's health had been put at risk into what her father thought was a stupid boy's ignorance and recklessness.

His room's wall weren't as thick as they thought when she was curious about what they talked about that night.

And just as soon, Harry was gone.

She didn't even see him the next morning. Having woken up late, as tired as having run a marathon and her muscles so tense she thought they could be sculpted. Her mother just keep staring ahead, some imaginary point of dirt over the wall. Never answering her questions until her dad came and sat down with her.

He tried to explain it to her. A bunch of insincere and, for her, stupid reasons, but what stuck most on her head wasn't that, but Harry's words. How he had asked her to keep it a secret, to let it stay between them and together work it out, everything.

Such things raised her ego, even if that wasn't his goal. To have a friend that trusted you and wanted you to help them because they couldn't think of one other person to whom they could go to? It was exhilarating. Never mind that neither had any other friends.

And she failed him. She should have listened to him, trust him. No matter that Harry was someone she had met less than five days ago. For her first and probably only friend she could have done it.

The days and weeks after that were a tense affair. For whatever had to do with her magical education, her parents complied. Taking her at every chance to visit to the Alley. She suspected it was a way for them -more especially her dad- to make it to her, but frankly, she didn't give a damn.

Like a grumpy cat, she hardly hemmed or hawed, but gave them an almost frosty treatment. They couldn't understand how badly they had failed her, how the bastions of light and justice she saw them as dimmed and fell. Her respect for them had taken a mighty blow.

On her own, she went and studied everything she could get her hands on, even things that a First Year like her wouldn't need or possibly understand. At least that's what the bookshop's employees thought, a true Ravenclaw to them apparently. But it wasn't just magic, no. She also looked for, or ordered via mail, books as was tradition with her family.

Except this kinds of books were scientific, more than a normal sixth grader would ever put the effort in. She didn't understand a peep from most of them, expanding her understanding as fast she read, but she was nothing if not diligent. And a fast reader. Books almost eaten by the days and knowledge wedged inside her accumulated with no sign of stopping.

Besides, knowing what she knew now about the worlds around her, both magical and extraterrestrial, she would be a fool to never reach within herself and aspire to make advancements on everything that could come to harm her.

It wouldn't be now, or even in her second year ...and if she was being pessimistic neither her third year, but Hermione was sure that she would learn. Learn everything she could about science and magic and when anyone tried to ever hurt her again, well, she would be ready.

She finished packing her stuff, the room looking a bit in disarray but she was sure her mother would help her in the morning. Even if both weren't as close as the start of summer neither ever liked messy or disorganized rooms.

That night she slept fitfully. Dreams and nightmares plagued her, none ever lasting long yet always interchanging. It had been this way ever since that day, and although her parents had only noticed for the first few days, she had come to silence her cries. Whatever she felt at them at the moment, she still didn't want them to worry over her.

There were shadows in her eyes that morning and when her mother asked, she simply replied that she was too excite to go to sleep that night, staying up against her own judgment. She didn't know if her mother believed her excuse, but, as it was, in a few hours it probably wouldn't matter.

It was strange to her, as they rode towards the station, how little it seemed to lie to her parents. How little it meant in the long run, and it worried her that she would continue in that path. Leaving things aside when they asked for her well-being wasn't something she wanted, and if she was truthful telling lies was more of a spur of the moment thing, one that had -admittedly- lasted a month or so , but one she would definitely stop as soon as the trip to Hogwarts ended.

She could only think how in the future how awful it would be if she would lost contact with her parents and it stayed like this, and ultimately this wasn't what she wanted. So, with resolution she decided to start at the earliest opportunity.

Her parents were uneasily quiet, and an awkward silence began to fall in the car. She quickly tried to think of anything that might help her, but came up blank. It frustrated her to know that her parents were probably thinking and agonizing over the fact that she would be gone for so long and here she was unable to even voice her thoughts.

Almost immediately tears of frustration swell up, and she held on, for fear they would get the wrong impression. Unfortunately, not even a minute later her mother had heard as her voiced hitch, recognizing her daughters sounds, her motherly instinct flaring within seconds.

She signaled her husband to stop and not even before he was finished she was already over the seats, throwing her hands around her daughter and comforting her as only she could.

Soothing words and grateful promises on both sides.

She stayed there with her mother, some words escaped her, her few fears she had, and how she felt about not seeing Harry again, she took the opportunity as it came, just like she promised herself. Her father was mostly silent, only throwing a sentence here or there on the journey but none were dismissed. This were the last few words she would hear from him, and like a class on her favorite subject she took them to her heart and mind, holding them in until she never forgot them.

When they arrived at the station, she wiped her tears, a smile that seemed truer than earlier in her summer.

One both her parents were happy to see.

She got out of the car, grabbed her trunk and followed after her father. Her mother on her side helping her with the few things she hadn't put on the trunk, after it would be weird if her family was seen with just the trunk, their use lost to the public years ago in favor of the suitcases. True, they didn't plan on stopping and talking to people that asked about it, but even then.

She saw a few students, muggleborns, the same as her, that were either first years like her or higher up, but a few things made them stand up around the populace that filled the insides of the station. The trunks, for one, were indistinguishable. Some carried pets, owls, others cats -which she wished had, but sadly her mother was slightly allergic to them- and a boy with a toad. Why he chose such disgusting creature she'd never know. The boy actually looked a bit different from the other ones, actually.

For one he was with his grandmother, one that looked grand and regal from just the way she stood by his side, even if she was wearing that awful stuffed vulture over her head. But it wasn't just that. The way he looked around the place. No small amount of wonder and awe, confused looks sent towards simple objects, like a newspaper stand or technological things. His ignorance was noticeable and the understanding that he must be one of those pure-bloods came to her. The thought of how the pure-bloods acted made her twitch her nose in distaste, but seeing how the boy acted perhaps not all were the same.

She pointed them up to her parents, silently making them understand that they follow the family of two. The boy in front of her kept asking his grandmother things about his surroundings, their voices so low even a few feet away from them she couldn't hear them even straining her ear. She answered every one he had, although she always took a second or two to answer them.

Finally they arrived at the Nine and Three-Quarters column. Her fears that it wouldn't work or she had been deceived dispelled as she saw the stern woman explain something to the awkward looking boy and usher him forward. He took a tentative step forward and a fearful look towards her, before a sharp nod from her made him look back to it. His shoulders squared, tensed as he pushed his cart forward.

She held her breath. Fearful he would crashed she almost closed her then and there, but she shouldered on, watching in wonder as one second he was there and the next gone. She hadn't actually seen him going in. Somehow, a person crossing exactly at that moment blinding her from his passage. She found it confusing and strikingly suspicious when his grandmother made the same and passed only for the same to happen again. A spell.

Magic.

In such a public space? How courageous of them. Or perhaps they simply felt no non-magical would ever notice, passing each time someone crossed ignorant of the veil between both worlds To the wizards credit they did have the entering point of their whole market on one of the most traffic-filled streets of London.

It must have come with some sort of confounding spell, or some such that she had read, so that it went pass people's heads.

No matter. She could research it later, once she was in Hogwarts…

She turned towards her parents, giving them what would probably her last glance in months, just until winter. Her parents were already ahead of her. Her father's arm circling her mother's shoulder, supporting her frame as she leaned on him. Tears were on both their eyes, and it seemed for a moment, that it might had just being the worst mistake of her life if she was leaving her parents, making them cry.

But she knew it wasn't exactly like that. Whatever else, they were proud of her, and supportive of any choice she made, confident that she would do them well. After all, they thought her well.

Her mother came forward, hugging her so hard she felt the air leave her lungs. Her father in contrast, only put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly, it didn't matter, really. His eyes were emotional enough that she understood how strongly he felt seeing her go that he's normally public strong masked cracked. Just a little.

No words were spoken between them. The car ride alone and now this… well, it was a good enough of a good bye for them.

No, not a good bye, she thought to herself, A see you later.

She turned back to the column. Magic and wonders behind it. Mystical knowledge and wonderful secrets waiting for her. Friends… Yes, it was the right thing.

She squared her shoulders, fear never entering her mind. She had seeing someone passed without problems. Two magicals. It would do the same for her. The doubt that she wouldn't have enough magic, as crazy as it sounded to her, had been long dispelled.

The initial slowness of her carrier made her huffed, but with little work it continued to roll, giving her almost a scare as she felt it going too far from her, but she quickly corrected herself. In seconds she was in front of the wall and with no hesitation she pushed on.

Just as suddenly it was over.

She felt a tingling sensation pass her and the slightest feeling she had been judged. It was minuscule and if she hadn't been completely immersed in what she felt, in trying to document everything she saw to memory it would have never registered. She had an inkling to what it was, and knowing that she had passed the falsely-impenetrable wall made her feel happy.

What she saw next was a simple platform. If!, it had paper airplanes flying for more than could be believed, people levitating trunks from the platform into the train, families strewn around the whole platform dressed in some absurdly dresses and some children already dressed in their Hogwarts uniforms! Magic was everywhere, people showing spells and tricks and quirks and newspapers that were all obviously not normal. Honestly? It surprised her. It wasn't at all like Diagon Alley where people were more interested in going about in their shopping and hardly watching as others made use of their wands or pets or magic.

It was in a part exhilarating, like being back to a younger age and watching from how chocolates were made. Well, when her mother made them.

Sometimes being a dentist's child wasn't that fun.

Not wanting to stand in the middle of incoming students, she stepped out of the way, just in time too, as a pair of red-headed twins came in one after the other. They had this mischievous grins that set off warning alerts in her head and she quickly stepped to the side unless she garnered their attention.

She watched them for a second before going the opposite way.

Not knowing anyone, or caring for that at the moment, she immediately got on the train. There would be enough time on the trip or even in the school for friends. A whole year, she thought now nervously. Would they like her, hate her? Would she be able to make friends as fast as she had done with Harry, or just like Harry would she break her friendships because of her mistakes?

She didn't know and thinking about it made her mood sour. She shook her head as if doing so would shake off those awful thoughts, and like magic she distracted herself with the interiors of the train. It seemed that again magic had impressed her. Outside the train looked no more than a five coach express, not that big she had imagined, or possibly connected not needed. It was her though that maybe not all students took the King Cross Station's one, after all, there must be students that live in Scotland or even closer to Hogwarts than the platform. Indeed it seemed silly to travel south just to use the train going back up north, but even so, the numbers for those that did use it, she didn't think in the beginning they would all fit.

Now she understood that with magic almost anything was possible. Case in point, while the coaches were normal-sized on the outside, on the inside there existed more than thrice the space that could be imagined. Indeed, magic was amazing.

The corridor stretched on her right side, compartments large enough to hold six or eight students on her left. To her back, the corridors ran all the way back to the conductor's quarter. Being on the third coach, she hardly thought of going to the first ones. Besides, she had read in Hogwarts: A History that the Prefects, those that in their fifth year got a whole sort of responsibility, stayed in the first few ones, and most upper years as well. She had enough experience with older students to know they never liked to interact with the younger ones -even if they themselves were ones. She would never be like that, she promised herself. Anyone that ever needed her help -and obviously wasn't for stupid or bad things- would find it in her.

Many compartments had already been filled, with many or just one or two students, but she didn't want to ask for entry in either. An empty one was all she needed. If someone came to hers, then she could veto them, maybe talk to them and afterwards simply decide whether she wanted them there for the rest of the trip. It was simpler that way, less of a hassle too.

Finally she found one, closer to the end of the third coach's tail. Without preamble she got in, closed the window curtains, and crashed into the seat. Her trunk laid there in the middle but she could levitate it whenever she wanted, Hogwarts' jurisdiction effectively presiding in the express the moment she got in. Luckily, because while she had practiced her wand motions and theoretical knowledge all summer, perhaps here she could find out how good she was.

Anticipating changing into the Hogwarts robes, she did it then, finding that perhaps people would regard her better if they saw her as a diligent girl and ready for the school. That it also conveyed none of her muggle clothes was a bonus. Knowing how some wizards treated her type she knew that her best bet of knowing how others would react to her was to let them voice their thoughts in what they'd think was a none judgmental area.

As soon as she was done, she lifted the curtains and performed the wand motions for the levitation charm. Once, twice, thrice, and one last with the book open for just in case.

Taking a deep breath she reached for her magic.

The books had all explained how to connect to magic. Indeed, one or two spoke almost the same thing and although none actually explained what magic was, just that it existed since wizards could remember -something she was a bit miffed about, knowing they were never interested in knowing- and all they could tell her was to reach deep inside her, to look for that special connection that only she could feel like no one else. Some say that meditation was key to finding more about one's magic and consequently one's self, but she'd never have the patience for it.

Some books were more spiritual. Telling her that magic would know when it was to be used, and that one's wand -a magical core in its one way- would reach as well for that particular fountain of power. That she could believe a little, having always thought that the laws of conservation of energy applied to all things -and since her letter arrived to magic as well. Her wand, made of vine and dragon heartstring core, was made for learning, at least that was what the wandmaker had said.

Flamboyant and powerful, yes… but for someone hoping to learn all they can, its invaluable. Priceless. But be careful Miss Granger, that although it is to the caster's whims, this wands can also lean heavily towards the Dark Arts, and trust me, someone like you would never wish to go down that path.

She had shivered at those words, believing them without a doubt. Ollivander was someone that had lived for possibly the lifespan of both her parents and probably more. Her parents were horrified in their own rights, and rightfully wary of letting her practice, always there with her watching. She didn't mind at the time, and in the privacy of her own mind, welcomed them. The secrets of magic and her own wand were still unknown for her and even the small comments she had garnered from books about the Dark Magic left her sleepless for hours into the night the day she read them.

For a second she thought she felt something, a strange connection to something foreign and familiar, forever hers and something she never knew she could handle. It was lost just as soon, but in minutes she found it again. Remembering the strange sensation she had just felt and all those times she had done accidental magic, those feelings she had at the moment were what caused her spells and mishaps, but now made the connection all the more easier.

She reached for it, drew her breath, and locked her arm and swished just as she spoke the incantation 'Wingardium Leviosa'. It was successful! On her first try, no less! The trunk rose slowly just as her hand and will demanded. Carefully she raised it above her head and when in position pushed it with her free hand towards the rack. Letting go of the spell, she lowered her hand, suddenly drained. Not by much, but for her it was very noticeable.

A small nap sounded good right about now.

An overhead voice roused her, startling her and almost making her jump of the bench. Rubbing her eyes off she tried to listen to the message that repeated itself without no speakers in the room.

It was repeating it herself that she understood. They were arriving.

Quickly she clambered off and took her trunk of the rack. Only when she turned around did she notice she wasn't alone. A boy no older than her was sit on the opposite chair, his head clanking against the window. As dozed as he was she didn't think he had heard the announcement.

He was a bit on the chubby side, with a round face, and teeth that slightly parted his lips. He was a bit shorter than her from what she could see, but then again she had already started her growth spurt. He was still in his personal clothes, clean-cut trousers with a sharp outlook. It went completely different with how gentle he looked. Not that he looked weak, but more like he looked like a soft-natured person and the suit contrasted highly with it. As if the suit was ready for the coming challenge but his face, his posture somehow conveyed to her his insecurity.

As a fellow student she had no dilemma in waking him up, for all she knew she would spend many years in the future with him, studying and learning. Perhaps they might come about to become great friends, and at the moment, that was something she was looking very much for.

He awoke slowly, like one of those persons that was glued to their pillows, but once she gave him a strong shake or two, he was firmly roused. He apologized, walking in without her approval wasn't what he wanted, but she was asleep and he couldn't find any other place that would let him in. She understood, and privately saw a bit of herself in him. He was shy, incredibly so, but a hidden courage must have been there for him to enter her compartment.

She got out for a moment, letting him change into his robes. While out there she saw as other students were already out of their own compartments. Many boys and girls, all older than her, but none as much as she had expected. The United Kingdom had a population of something over fifty million, expecting that at least two or three percent of the wizarding world was part of it -or added to it- then she expected at least fifteen thousand people in total, but here, well if she saw over a hundred, it was too much.

Perhaps she was wrong, or was counting wrong, or simply didn't have a good grasp of how this world went by, but to her this was something she didn't fully understand.

Her door opened again, and the boy's head came through, murmuring he was done. She nodded, and giving one more glance to her surroundings fully opened the door. Suddenly he raised his voice, yelling 'Trevor!' and almost throwing himself at her feet. She jumped back, looking wildly down. She caught it at the edge of her vision, a moving jumping, green slimy toad.

She recognized that toad. It was the one from the boy she saw in the station. The one with a grandmother with a vulture hat. She couldn't believe that she didn't connect the dots sooner. Berating herself for that slip-up she acted quickly, the only action she could think of that would help him was taking out her wand and pointing at the toad.

The boy saw her and for some reason horrified yelled at her to stop. Too late she casted the spell, only used twice in her life, and practiced to many times to count, the Levitation spell shot off her wand. Nothing connected to the toad, no ray or colors emanated from her wand, perhaps as a sign of its simplicity to use, but she knew the moment the toad stopped mid air that it had been casted successfully.

She smiled to herself, pleased that it worked. Careful in maintaining the spell, she moved it around and into the boy's hand… she really had to learn his name. He seemed a bit dismayed, but she couldn't understand why exactly. He gave it a quick look-over and sighed in relief, whatever he thought might have been wrong with it imagined.

She looked at him, expecting a thank you, but when he didn't -as he was still fawning over the toad- she huffed and passed him by, none too gently. Some people had no manners.

Minutes afterward the train stopped.

She waited until most students left the coach, their bickering and hustling annoyed her a bit. Hadn't they learned to be orderly in getting out of the train? Well, no matter. With only a few now lagging she got out of the compartment, the silence stifling in there. The boy had later thanked her, but he became as shy as she was and neither found any way to speak. He followed out of the train, he's trunk hardly carving into the ground. In fact, no doubt it was magic that made it look like he was barely pushing himself.

The September air was cold, biting into her hands and bones. Times like this she wished she learned the warming charm's instructions better, but unfortunately it was a fourth year spell and she didn't feel confident enough to not botch it up. The second year students and upwards left towards a small path down the road and a tall man was left calling the ones in her year.

Closer she could see that her thoughts about tall might have been understated. The man was gigantic! To his side she felt like toothpick ready to be plucked out. He wore poor man's clothes yet carried himself humbly, like he wasn't bothered by it, which she could believe, after all who would dare mess with him? Yet when he greeted her and the other kids he did it with such gentleness that it surprised her, though she hid it as best as she could.

He counter them all, a bit over forty, and gave them some rules before moving on. It seemed on everyone's mind that they were all waiting for him to finish so that they could get out of the rapidly cooling night. She wondered then if she would see Harry. If every student was counted for then it stood to reason that he would as well, and hopefully he would be there, if only so she could apologize to him. Even if he didn't want to be friends anymore, no matter how much the thought saddened her, she felt it was what she had to do.

She didn't find him, but admittedly she was highly distracted by the man that called himself Rubeus Hagrid, Hagrid for short. The gamekeeper he called himself, and she could see why someone like him might be named for such position. Whatever his personality was really like his intimidating stature would surely keep others in check.

The gigantic man finish talking, and with a lively laugh jostled them towards the boats, ones that were actually in the opposite direction as to where the upper years went. Perhaps, she mused to herself, it was some sort of ceremony. There was no doubt that in the Wizarding World there was a sense of tradition and monotone practice. They weren't backwards, far from it, she knew that wizards had long memories and an even longer lifespan, and the idea that they could change as fast as normal people was ludicrous.

She had had a teacher cover -to what she understood was a little amount- the Industrial Revolution, and it was discussed in her class how much of it may have been over how short people's lives were. How many realized that with all the wars and all the plagues and shortages of food, carving for themselves a small part of history was to be made as soon as possible, otherwise they would be left to dust in the winds of the past. At least it was a small part that she felt was true.

Wizards didn't suffer from such a fate. Resilient to most mundane maladies, and saved by spells crafted to cure them from magical ones, they lived in a relatively safe and comfortable pace that no non-magical would have possibly dreamed off. They took their time, and she understood that. Didn't like it, but she understood it. It was moreover a small part of her quest for knowledge, she wanted to help push it along, not in terms of customs and tradition, for she hardly knew them, but for that sense of yet to be discover knowledge that hid in the most astounding of ways and have it brought forth so that it all could smooth the progress of the centuries for their society as a whole.

Hagrid took her and the other to a close shore, where slipping and sliding on the September moist path small boats were reined in at the end. There were more than enough for all of us, yet Hagrid call them to four per boat, but she didn't know where to put her luggage, in fact none of the other children had theirs to their sides. Suddenly she colored in embarrassment. Was it possible that they were supposed to leave them in the train? Neville -the boy had rounded the courage to introduce himself as they walked- looked around and notice the same thing. He shot her a desperate look, unable to figure out what to do, but she was no closer to figuring it out herself.

Being the last two in the group meant that as soon as everyone was seated and didn't know why they weren't moving they would see them, and the embarrassment from that would promptly send her into hysterics. Already, she could feel herself panic.

An idea came to mind and as discreetly as she could she stepped to the side of the group so that the humble gamekeeper could see her. She waited for a few moments and once his gaze came around to her side, she signaled him to come. He perhaps looked confused as to what she wanted and she could see the gears in his mind about to whether call out or come to her side. Luckily, the man had some sense of discreetness and as he ordered the rest to sit in the boats he ambled to her and Neville's side.

A quick explanation and with an understanding smile he tapped their trunks with an umbrella -and why did he not have a wand, did he need something as big as that umbrella to use his magic?- and the trunks were whisked away. She gaped at the show of magic, unable to believe how an object like her trunk could just swish out of her eyes.

How it must have been transported through space -and possibly time- she didn't know. Well, she suspected it had to do with one of the Fundamental Laws of Magic that she had studied all throughout the summer which stated that at any time an object was moved by magic there was unseen force at work, which was redundantly called Magic (and god that sounded stupid to her), that took hold of the object and pushed, took hold of, stopped and did just about everything specified with the intentions of the witch or wizard, though through the Fourth it was stated that any action a magical user did would only be able to happen if their magical energy was actually up to par with what was needed. Which actually sounded a bit like Newt-

Oh the boats were waiting for her and she was just standing there like an idiot, and everyone was looking at her- and oh, she should just get on the boat…

Embarrassed, she ducked her head as she got in with Neville on the last open space, no one else was with them, but with what just happened she dearly needed no one else.

As such she only whipped up her head once she heard a collective gasp from all her other classmates. The murmurs of wonder too great for her to ignore she raised her eyes and not disappointed.

Majestic. That was the prime word she thought of as she saw it. Nothing short of majestic was all she could attach as an adjective. With its seven towers all protruding from the building in such ways that she was sure that even now the millennia old magic kept it together. From even there she could see the highly glittering windows that sparked livelihood and wonder. Even from there she could feel it in the air as magic flooded the castle and sent her this welcoming feeling. Like having being away from home for a long time and her mother would just be standing there, with her arms wide open and welcoming, no words needed and just happy to know that she was back.

It was strange that she felt as so. Was it perhaps the magic that had flooded the castle for millennia giving this flavor, this sense of welcoming that made her feel so at welcomed?

She almost felt that there Magic wouldn't refuse her. That she could be as free as she wanted, and no one, certainly not students or teachers, could ever make that feeling go away.

She basked in it, even as they arrived and docked into and underground harbor. Many of her fellow students quickly got out, even as she and Neville took their time. She noticed, that as she had done, he had a face of wonder, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, what he was feeling. He had felt it, just as her, of that she was sure, and she wouldn't lie if that made her feel better about it all.

Hagrid hurried them off the boats, none in an orderly fashion or control, until he got to the castle's doors. Big and splendid, the doors must have been at least four times Hagrid's stature. He knocked using his gigantic fist and for three times she heard it rumble into the wood. Each brought a more determination to herself. He studies in magic were about to begin, she would study with people of her own age, that truly understood all her strange behaviors and accidental magic. Where she would have wonderful friends and with any luck she would not make an enemy out of others, where the teachers would be able to explain to her in all the details that she could ask. It was time for a new beginning.

The castle door opened.