When I was four years old, my father was murdered. A group of dark wizards had broken into my house and killed my father in revenge for sending their leader to Azkaban after he had murdered a family of wizards in Whitby. My father was an Auror, and a good one at that, but he couldn't fight off three insanely powerful sadistic assholes at once.

My mom, my brother, and I, as well as our family and friends, had to go into hiding. The killers had gotten away, leaving us in danger. They had tried to come after us several times, but were unsuccessful due to the team of Aurors guarding us.

We had moved around a few times to ensure that they wouldn't be able to find us. Due to this, we weren't allowed to go out into the open. The farthest we were allowed to go was to Bobby's house next door, and the woods behind our house. Although, one time when I was eleven, Mom and I had flooed to Ollivander's so I could get myself a proper wand to truly begin my study of magic.

Bobby had been like a brother to my dad, and when he had died, Bobby, his wife Ellen, and her daughter Jo had been forced into hiding as well. We had all become even closer and Jo was like a sister, Ellen an overprotective aunt, and Bobby like a father.

And that was why when the three wizards who had killed my father were caught and sent to Azkaban, never to see the light of day again, and we were free to do as we pleased, it was Bobby who took me on my first trip outside our little bubble.

Given, it served a purpose and was necessary, but that didn't mean much to me. It was exciting.

Bobby didn't care much for traveling by Floo or disapparition, so we drove to London, and I now found myself standing in front of a large brick wall that would soon reveal what I had been looking forward to my whole life it seemed.

It wasn't too hot out, but I found myself sweating anyway. I shoved my hands in ny pockets and looked at the wall nervously.

Bobby looked over at me. "Stop fidgeting, boy." He slapped his hand onto my shoulder and I winced a bit. "Ready?"

I shrugged and nodded. "As ever."

He drew his wand tapped a few of the red bricks in front of him. I watched in amazement as the bricks turned and shifted to form a doorway nearly twice as tall as me.

Holy shit, I thought as I looked at the different stores, selling everything from animals to potions to clothes.

"Well, go on. We ain't got all day."

I huffed, but did as he said. I stepped onto the road and looked around me. I had no idea where to start. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the list that Mom had written out.

"Okay." I ran my hand through my hair and scratched at my head. "We've got to get robes, parchment, ink and quills, and my uniform."

"We can get your pants, but the sweater and ties, you get those after you're sorted."

I nodded. "Okay, where to first?" Bobby pointed and I looked up. We were standing in front of a building labeled as Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

I opened the door and stepped into the shop. There was a woman standing off to the side and she came to greet me. "Hello young man. How can I help you?"

"Hi. I need my robes for school." She nodded and disappeared into a room for a moment before reappearing.

"Alright, if you'll just come over here please." She gestured for me to stand on a small platform. I was instructed to hold my arms out straight at my sides and a measuring tape wrapped itself around me. She checked my measurements and a few minutes later I was leaving with two robes in hand.

Next was Scribbulus Writing Instruments. There, we purchased some parchment, ink, and a few quills.

There wasn't really much I needed. I had a lot of the required equipment at home from my tutoring. So, we picked up a few odds and ends from Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment and it was time to go back home. After all, I would only be at school for about three weeks, aybe a month.

As we made our way back down the road, Bobby stopped me and headed inside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. I smiled and promptly ordered a double scoop of the closest thing to mocha almond fudge as I could find.

Bobby just shook his head and pulled out his wallet. I smirked and began to eat my ice cream. He paid and we continued on our way.

"You know, we can get you a pet while we're here. There's a few shops over here."

After a minute of consideration, I said, "I think an owl would be cool."

We entered a shop full of different colored owls. I made a few rounds around the store before making my decision. I chose a medium sized owl, deep brown in color. A few of it's feather's glinted almost gold in the sunlight, which I thought looked pretty cool. I paid for the owl and a few supplies and exited the shop, cage in hand.

We hopped into the car and half an hour later we were home.

Bobby went to his house and I walked to mine. Opening the front door, I set down my things and walked into the kitchen where I could hear someone moving around. I left the cage next to the couch.

I saw my mom standing at the stove and smiled, walking up behind her. I leaned over, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Hey Mom."

"Hey sweetie. How was it?" She wiped her hands on a towel and gave me a hug.

I smiled. "It was awesome."

She nodded. "Good. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah. I got it all. And an owl."

"I know. What are you gonna name it?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I can't decide."

She smiled. "You better come up with something. Can you go tell your brother to come down? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

I nodded. "Sure thing." I reached over and swiped a piece of chicken from the plate and ducked out of her reach as I ran upstairs, snickering.

"Dean!" she shouted.

I laughed and knocked on Sam's door before barging in. "Hey Sammy."

He scowled at me from his spot on the bed. "It's Sam," he corrected me for what had to be the billionth time. I just grinned and popped the rest of the piece of meat in my mouth. He sat up, forgetting his frustration. "How was it?" he asked.

"It was awesome," I said truthfully. "They've got all kinds of shit. And the best frickin' ice cream I've ever eaten."

He smiled. "As good as pie?"

"Almost. But pie will always hold the number one spot in my heart."

He shook his head. "You know you're gonna have a heart attack at like 25, right?" I shrugged. As long as I had pie, I would be content. "What kind of stores are there?"

I thought back. "There's bookstores, pet shops, clothes, everything you could need."

"Yeah? Any cute girls?" He snickered. "Or guys, I guess, in your case."

I flushed slightly. "Shut up."

He sighed. "I want to go."

"You will, when we go in the fall for next year."

"I meant school. I want to go this year." He sighed.

I flopped down onto his bed. "I know, but I'm only going because I have to take my O.W.L.s," I said.

"Ugh. It's not fair."

I was about to respond when Mom shouted, "Boys!"

I stood up and ruffled Sam's hair. "Come on bitch. Let's go eat."

I walked out of his room and down the stairs. He ran past me and hopped off the bottom step. "Jerk." I grinned and we both sat down at the table.

~·~·~·~·~

A week later, it was time for me to go to Hogwarts. Mom, Sammy, and I met up with Jodi, an auror who had worked with my father. She had been a part of our protective team of aurors since I was about seven, and had becime a close friend of Mom's.

We met at a small clearing a few hours from the house. From there, we would take a portkey to just outside of the grounds of Hogwarts. I had only traveled once by portkey, and it wasn't the most pleasant thing ever. It wasn't very far, but this way was faster, and Mom and Sam weren't allowed to come with us. My trunk and my owl's, who still didn't have a name, cage had already been sent to the castle that morning. The owl had flown to Hogwarts, and was waiting there for me.

Mom stopped the car and we got out. Jodi was already there, and she came over to greet us. "Hello Mary. How are you?"

Mom smiled. "I'm doing well. You?"

"I've been good." Sam and I hugged her as well, greeting her warmly.

"Are you excited?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

She smiled and talked to mom for a minute, and then it was time to leave. "Alright. We've got less than two minutes until we take the portkey."

I turned to Mom and she pulled me into a tight hug, and I didn't complain, just hugging her back. This would be the longest I had ever been away from my family.

She held on for another moment before letting me go. "You better write me. I want a letter no later than tomorrow night. I want to know which house you're sorted into."

She smiled at me and her eyes were wet. I rolled my eyes at her, while trying to keep my eyes from watering as well. I was a sympathetic crier, it wasn't my fault.

"I will, Mom. Love you."

"I love you too, Dean."

I grabbed Sam's shoulder and pulled him in for a quick, manly hug. "Bye Sammy." I grinned. I wasn't going to see him for over a month, so I had to tease him while I still could.

He glared, but I saw a slight smile. "Bye."

"I'll talk to you guys soon." I gave Mom another quick hug and she kissed my forehead.

"We'll miss you."

I waved and Jodi lead me over to a lone, pink sneaker that sat on the ground. Mom put her arm around Sam and they watched as Jodi counted down, looking at her watch.

"Ten, nine, eight." I saw Mom wipe her eyes. "Five, four, three." I shut my eyes tightly and grabbed hold of the shoe. "One!"

We began to spin and I clenched by eyes shut tp drown put the dizziness. We spun amd spun, coming to a stop just before I felt like I was about to puke. Heights weren't my favorite and neither was just fucking flying through the air.

I sat on the ground and pressed a hand to my forehead. "Oh god." I opened my eyes a minute later and looked around me. We were on what looked like a small dirt road surrounded by trees.

I looked to where Jodi stood and there was a bend in the road a little bit ahead of us. I stood up and brushed off my shirt and shook off the remaining jitters.

"Ready?" I nodded jerkily and she began to walk ahead. I joined her and we walked for a minute until the road turned and in front of us was a huge wrought iron fence. Behind that stood Hogwarts.

My mouth fell open at the sheer size of it. It was enormous. I had to crane my neck up to see the tops of the towers. I continued to gawk for a while until I jumped in surprise when the large gate creaked open. I stepped back as it swung out.

Two figures emerged from the front doors of the castle. One was a tall brunette woman, and standing next her was a redheaded student. Jodi placed a hand on my back and gently pushed me through the gates and onto Hogwarts' grounds.

They walked over to where we stood. The woman smiled and reached out her hand. "Good morning. You must be Mr. Dean Winchester. I'm Professor Marx, I teach Transfiguration here at Hogwarts."

I shook her hand and cleared my throat. "Good morning. It's nice to meet you."

She nodded and turned to Jodi. "Good morning to you as well. I want to thank you for bringing in Mr. Winchester."

Jodi shook her head. "It's no problem."

"Very well then. I'll take you into the Headmaster's office and we'll get you sorted. Then it will be lunch time, so I'll have Miss Bradbury show you around then." She gestured to the girl standing beside her, who smiled and waved to me. "I thought you'd be more comfortable with one of your peers."

"Yeah, thank you."

We followed her as she walked through the doors and walked down a hallway. I was amazed at how large the inside was. Above me, there were a ton of staircases turning left and right.

At the end of one of the hallways there was another set of doors. Once opened, they revealed a room, the Headmaster's office. "The Headmaster would like to apologize about his absence today. He wished he were here to greet you, but he has a very important meeting with the Minister of Magic." I nodded.

Professor Marx stood in front of me. "Okay. First order of business, we need to get you sorted into your house."

Nerves flooded my body as I looked to Jodi for assurance. She gave me a smile and placed her hand on my shoulder. I turned back to Professor Marx. "Okay."

"Great." She pulled an old, dirty hat off the shelf beside her and asked me to sit down on the stool next to the desk.

I sat down and watched nervously as she came closer and set the hat on my head. I wasn't sure how this process went, so when the the hat went, "Hmmm," I shrieked in surprise and nearly fell off the stool.

"Don't worry," Jodi said.

The hat continued to hum for a moment before it spoke. "Ah yes. I think... Ravenclaw!"

I grinned as Professor Marx took the hat from my head and retuned it to the shelf. "Congratulations. Ravenclaw is a very respectable house. You must be very clever."

"Thank you."

"Your uniform will be waiting in your room when you get there, which will be in about fifteen minutes. I just want to go over your schedule and some of our school policies." Fun, I throught sarcastically.

Twenty minutes later, I folded a packet of papers and tucked them into the pocket of my jeans. I hugged Jodi and told her goodbye, walking her to the front doors. When she was gone, I turned to the girl next to me.

"Hi. I'm Dean."

"I'm Charlie. Also in Ravenclaw."

I nodded. "Cool."

"Yeah. Well, you wanna see the dormitories?" I nodded. "Okay. Let's go." She informed me that Ravenclaw dormitories were located in Ravenclaw Tower.

When we came to the doorway, I looked for the doorknob. There wasn't one. The obly thing I saw was a large, bronze, knocker. It was shaped like an eagle.

I looked at Charlie for an explanation. "To get in, you have to answer a riddle." I frowned.

Suddenly, a voice said spoke loudly. "What came first? The pheonix or the flame?" It took me a moment to realize that the knocker was asking the question.

Charlie smirked. "A circle has no beginning."

A moment later, the door swung open. She looked at me. "Professor Shurley's given me that one before." She walked into the room and I followed close behind, looking around the spacious room

The room was circlar with big, arched windows that seemed to overlook a forest and lake. The drapes were a nice blue that I knew to be one of Ravenclaw's colors. There were several bookshelved placed around the room, as well as a few sofas and chairs.

"It's really nice in here." Charlie nodded as I continued to look around. The bookshelves were packed with interesting books, most of which I had never heard of.

"The dormitories are over here." She pointed to a door next to a statue. I walked through the doorway and up some stairs. The stairs parted into two different directions. "Boys' are to the right."

I kept to the right and she directed me to my room. There were four large four-poster beds with midnight blue curtains. "That one's your's." Charlie pointed to the bed on the far wall to the left.

"Are you allowed to be in here?" I asked her. My chests sat at the foot of my bed and my uniform was on my bed.

"Yeah. Girls can come in here, but boys can't go in the girls' rooms."

"That's got to be annoying."

She shook her head. "Nope. Raging lesbian."

I let out a snort. "So you can just do whatever you want over there."

"Exactly." She laughed as I sat on my bed. "And you?"

"What about me?"

"Which team do you play for?"

I stopped in the middle of opening my trunk. I really hadn't planned on discussing this. Wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans, I figured that I could be honest. After all, she had told me that she was gay, so I wasn't expecting her to judge me.

"Uh, I'm... I'm gay." I offered her a thin, uncomfortable smile before turning back to my trunk.

She nodded. "You're secret's safe with me." She glanced at her watch. "Break's almost over. You start tomorrow right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, you can just chill out here. After class is dinner, so do you wanna just meet me at the great hall?"

I hesitated. I had no idea how to get there. "Just go back down the stairs to the main hallway, and take a right. It's down there, you can't miss it." After a moment, I said, "Alright."

She smiled, "Great."

"So when the bell rings, just go there, and I'll wait for you by the door." She said goodbye and headed off to class.

I unpacked my pictures and set them on the nightstand. I didn't have many to unpack so, after deciding to leave my clothes in my trunk, I grabbed one of the old textbooks I had brought. It was on one of my favorite subjects: Potions.

I started from the beginning, reading up on the most important ingredients and their magical properties. Halfway through, I was starting to get pretty hungry. I'd been too nervous to eat breakfast, so I hadn't eaten anything. I was relieved when the bell ring not too long afterward. Closing my book, I left it on my bed. I left the dormitories and made y way out of the common room. I walked down a few flight of stairs and eventually came out into a hallway. But it didn't look familiar.

Had Charlie said right of left? Left, definitely left. I made the turn and walked a little bit before coming to a dead end with a large staircase going up and circling around to the right. With no idea where I was, I decided to go up and maybe ask someone. A few moments later I heard a few voices. Next, taunting laughter.

Curious, I looked to see what was going on. My blood ran cold at what I saw. A boy around my age was standing between two taller, stronger boys. One grabbed him by the collar and pushed him into the wall. The other boy laughed and shoved him from the side. His bag fell to the floor as he stumbled to catch himself. QUIlls and a textbook slipped out. Te first kid kicked it, sending his stuff flying down the hallway.

Looking around, I saw nobody, so I walked over myself. "Hey!" I called out, catching their attention. One of them lowered their arm, from where I suspected he was about to hit the poor kid.

"What do you want? Get out of here."

"Leave him alone," I said seriously.

They laughed. "Look, I don't know you, but nobody tells me what to do."

I stepped even closer and looked him directly in the eye. We were roughly the same height. "I said, leave him alone."

He looked at me for a minute and I stared back. He must have seen that I wasn't about to back down, and turned to his friend. "Whatever. Let's just go." He addressed me and the kid who they were beating on. "This isn't over." They left down t he stairs, glaring at the two of us.

I turned to the guy next to me. There was a small cut on his lip. He was leaning against the wall, still breathing a bit heavy. His tie was blue and bronze, just like the one still lying on my bed. So he was Ravenclaw too."Are you okay?" Stupid question. "What's your name?"

"You shouldn't have done that," he stated, ignoring my question.

"And why's that?"

"Because now they're not going to leave you alone. They don't like being challenged."

I shrugged. "I'm not scared." And it was true. I'd been trained in hand-to-hand combat for years as a precaution. "What's your name?" I asked him again.

"Castiel. Castiel Novak."

I nodded. "I'm Dean Winchester." He simply stared at me. "Hey, can you tell me how to get to the Great Hall?"

He frowned and looked at me curiously. "You don't know how to get there?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm new here. I'm supposed to meet this girl Charlie there, but I got lost."

"Charlie Bradbury?" I nodded. "We're good friends. I usually eat with her anyway, so I can show you the way.:

"Great. Thanks."

He led me back down the hallway, up two flights of stairs, and down another corridor. God, I'd never be able to find this place. Charlie was waiting by the door. "There you are. Did you get lost?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but I got some help."

Charlie grinned. "Hey Castiel." I saw her glance at his lip, but she said nothing.

"Hello Charlie."

Upon entering the Great Hall, I looked, around, taking in all the people, the floating candles, and the ceiling. Fuck, magic was awesome. It was like looking at the night sky, full of stars and clouds.

Most people paid no attention to us, although when we sat down, a few people gave us odd looks. I then realized that I was still wearing my muggle clothes and turned away from their stares.

I was surprised by the amount of food. There were plates and plates of sandwiches and chicken and roasted potatoes. 'Don't mind if I do,' I thought and took a helping of each.

As we ate, Charlie asked about my schooling before I'd come to Hogwarts. "Me and my little brother were taught by my mom and uncle some, and we had some tutors." I took another serving of potatoes.

"So if you're parents are wizards, then you're pureblood?" Charlie asked.

I shook my head. "Not exactly. My mom's a muggle-born, so..."

She nodded. "I'm half-blood too. My dad's a muggle." We were quiet for a few minutes as we ate.

I observed Castiel. He hadn't said anything since we had started eating. He simply sat quietly, nibbling on a sandwich and gazing up at the ceiling. There was a bit of dried blood collected on his lip and he had some dirt on his forehead.

Our silence was interrupted as another boy sat across from us at the crowded table. "Hey Cassie. Charlie." His easy grin faded as he saw Castiel's lip. "Ah Cassie. Who was it? Was it the same dickwad from last time?"

Did this happen often?

Castiel looked extremely uncomfortable. He glanced at me then back to the blonde kid. I looked away and acted like I wasn't paying attention.

He didn't give a name though. Well, he didn't give his bully's name. "I'm fine. Dean stopped them before anything happened."

The boy seemed to finally realize that I was right there. "Are you Dean?"

I nodded amd held out my hand after wiping it on my jeans. "Yeah. Dean Winchester."

"I'm Gabriel Milton. Castiel's my cousin." He pulled his hand back and nodded at me. "Thank you."

I smiled awkwardly and finished off my food. Just as the desserts appeared, Gabriel whispered to Charlie, "Watch this."

Not ten seconds later, one of the professors erupted into a fit of hiccoughs. They covered their mouth and tried to take a sip of water to clear it up, but it kept up. The students laughed as the other teachers looked at him.

It seemed as they all knew what was happening. A man stood from the table and led the hiccoughing man out of the room.

After he was gone, the laughter died down and everyone returned to their plates. I looked to Gabriel who was still laughing. "Hiccough Sweets. From tge joke shop in Hogsmeade."

"Cool."

Castiel shook his head in what was probably supposed to be disappointment, but the tiny smile on his face gave him away.

Soon, it was time to return to our dormitories. People slowly emptied out of the room while a few stayed behind. Charlie and I walked together with Castiel and Gabriel behind us. It didn't take long to get to the common room, and when we did, Charlie sat in front of the fireplace on a squishy armchair.

Gabriel sat on the floor next to the fire, while I went up to the dormitory. To my surprise, Castiel followed me. "I believe we're in the same room."

Indeed we were. His bed was the one across from mine. "That one's Jason's, and Marcus', and Alexandre's," he told me as he pointed to each bed.

"Are they cool?"

He looked at me for a moment before shrugging his thin shoulders. "They're alright. We're not that close." He picked up a shirt. "Charlie and Gabriel are my only close friends."

He seemed embarrassed and to make him feel better I smiled. "My best friends are my younger brother and Jo, but she's more like a sister." He nodded.

"I'm just gonna change." I took a few steps back so I was behind the curtains of my bed. I pulled off my shirt and scratched at the itchy feeling of one of the scars on my back from when I'd fallen out of a tree. I was nine.

I slipped on a plain white t-shirt and flannel pants. Stepping out into the room, I saw that Castiel was gone. He must have gone to the common room and joined Charlie and Gabe.

I grabbed a sheet of paper and my quill and ink before going to the common room. I sat at a small table.

"You can sit over here, Dean," Charlie offered.

"Thanks, but I need to write this letter." But no matter what, I couldn't focus. All I had after ten minutes was 'Dear Mom.' I sighed and stood up. Maybe I'd have more luck in the morning.

Grabbing my stuff, I sat down next to Gabe on the floor. "Hey Dean. I was telling Castiel about the time I accidentally poisoned my brother." He grinned. "Cassie doesn't think it's funny."

I smiled at the glare on Castiel's face. He had cleaned up and now that there was no blood or dirt on his face, he was handsome in a quiet way.

He had changed into a long-sleeve black shirt and black lounge pants, both of which were a little too big for him.

He shook his head at Gabriel's story and watched the fire. Gabriel entertained us with more stories, which the others had probably heard, but he told me anyway. I wasn't sure if I believed all of them, but they were still funny.

When we decided to go to bed, we were the last ones still in the common room besides a third-year finishing an essay.

We exchanged goodnights and soon, I was crawling into my bed. "Goodnight Castiel," I mumbled, pulling my blankets up to my chin.

"Goodnight Dean." I heard a rustle of sheets and then the small lamp beside his bed clicked off. We were immersed in darkness, and I drifted off quickly, drained from the day's excitement.

A/N: Hi! So this is a new story I started. I posted this chapter to see if anyone was interested. I have a second chapter if you guys are. Also, I need a beta. Just for like catching grammar mistakes and to, you know, yell at me if I take too long to update. If anyone wants to be my beta I'd very much appreciate it. Just send me a PM or something.

Please let me know in a comment what you think about the story! :)