James Archer's Story

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Rae shifted just slightly in the dirt, glancing up to push a piece of her hair away from her face. She had come to school a week prior to everyone else to help prep the Herbology garden for the First years. She sat in a mound of dirt and herbs, with gritty sediment plastered up both of her arms to her elbows. To her right sat Ra, cozy inside her discarded cloak. He was too much of a dainty fellow to bother getting his paws dirty.

Rae turned back to her work, ignoring the soft mews of her companion. It wasn't until her alarm went off, said alarm being an enchanted note set to explode into sparkles, that she realized the other students would be arriving soon. With a small squeak she quickly finished her current project; filling in the last of the snapdragon's bed. "Better hurry, or we'll be late," she sighed in soft Korean as she scooped up Ra and made her way back to the dormitory. Luckily, she managed to shower and get dressed just in time for the first couple of carriages to start pulling into the gates. She was late.

As though a fire had started behind her, Rae dashed about her room and scooped up Ra excitedly. Her friends were back. Unable to contain her joy, she bounded through the soon-to-be-filled hallways and bounced nearly all the way down to the gate When she finally arrived, she was breathless but grinning. Instantly her face scanned the vessels for her friends. Where are you, James? Ronnie, you're usually one of the first ones here... where.. Is that? No...

Her brown orbs dashed across the many faces of the students. A nervous hand gently stroked Ra's skin as she looked around. Maybe they were inside already? Rae chewed on her bottom lip just lightly, wondering where they could have gone. Maybe they had decided to take on guiding the First years in this year? Frowning, Rae hoofed it back across the grounds to the docks. When she arrived she was met with a sea of little witches and wizards. She tried to stand toward the edge of the large groups, scanning the faces of the older students to try and see if one of them belonged to any of her friends.


It was then that her black robe was tugged on by one of the First years. A young blonde girl who looked lost. Rae smiled warmly to the child and took her hand, nodding in the direction of the school. On the way to the banquet hall, Rae did her best to ease the girl's fears. Apparenlty someone had told her that the Sorting Hat would bite a bit of your hair off if you sounded too nervous. Although it was a little funny, Rae quickly put the girl's fears to rest.

The young one seemed to feel a little better, but then looked stricken as Rae stopped by the large dinning room doors. "Aren't you coming?" "I have to sit with my house," Rae explained with a smile patting the girl on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, don't worry about a thing. The hat will put you in the right place." With that, Rae left the First year to find her seat with the other First years, and made her way over to the Cervus table. She was starving. From the inside of her cloak came a quiet purring as Ra fell asleep. Spoiled cat, Rae thought to herself with an amused smile. She sat down with the other members of her house and strained to see over the heads over the other tables.

With no sign of her friends, Rae let out a gentle sigh and turned her attention to the front of the hall to watch the sorting ceremony.

James slid down in his seat on the train. It seemed he had managed to get a compartment to himself and he hated it. Usually he'd be sitting with Rae or Fiona, but since he had broken up with Fiona at the end of last year, he wasn't sure whether or not he would be welcome with her and her friends. Merlin only knew where Rae was. Knowing Rae, she was probably already at the school, helping one of the teachers set up for the year.

The door to his compartment opened and two timid looking first-years appeared, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone was in here," said one of them, a small fair haired boy with freckled skin.

James sat upright, "No it's fine. You two can sit in here, I'm not expecting anyone else." He invited them in, pointing to the opposite seat. The two boys entered, both looking exremely nervous. "First year?" They nodded, "I remember my first year," James laughed, "I was pretty nervous too, but you've really got nothing to worry about. Trust me."

The two boys looked at each other. The second boy, who was dark haired, plucked up the courage to speak, "What happens in the Sorting Ceremony?"

"Well, they put a hat on your head and the hat reads your mind and decides which house you belong in."

"Does it hurt?"

"When the hat reads your mind? No. More tickles really. Actually I'm not sure how you would describe it, but it's definitely not painful."

The rest of the journey passed much the same, the two boys asking James questions about Magnus Grex and the elder boy answering as best they could. When it was time to leave the train, James pointed the two boys in the right direction and left for the Great Hall. People walked annoyingly slowly when you were in a rush, he was beginning to find, silently willing the students around him to move faster. Seeing a gap in the crowd, James squeezed through and speedwalked the rest of the way. He looked for Rae's face at her house table and gave the girl a small wave. Whether or not she saw it, he wasn't sure. James took his place at his table and turned to the front of the Hall, eager for the sorting ceremony to start so he could eat.

Fiona wondered very seriously if what was happening to her was a panic attack. She leaned heavily on the sink, her head slumped over as she watched the water running into the drain.

Had she just so seriously been afraid to speak to her friends that she’d had a panic attack?

“Oh god this year is going to be horrible,” she said to herself.

She turned off the water and stepped away, into one of the stalls where she put her back flat against the wall and slid to the floor.

“This isn’t about James,” she said for the what must have been the thousandth time since term had ended.

But if it wasn’t really about him, then why must she keep reminding herself of that?

Because she couldn’t figure out what else it was about. When she thought of him, that silly hair, those sweet eyes - it didn’t upset her, make her nervous or embarrassed, didn’t make her think any of the things she thought when she’d spotted a clump of sixth year Ferres on the boat.

No, this wasn’t about him. Breaking up with him had sucked, had really, really sucked. Then again, dating him hadn’t been so great either, or they wouldn’t have broken up. This was about her, about whatever was going on that made her hate the sight of people she loved, made her want to spend a four hour long boat ride hiding in a bathroom.

She pushed herself to her feet and walked purposefully back to the sink, looking herself straight in the eyes as she approached the mirror.

“You are just being stupid. Those people like you and you like them. And they will understand if you say you want to spend more time alone this year.”

That is what her mother had recommended, talk honestly to her friends about her problems. Easy for her mom to say, she didn’t have to share a dorm room with them every night, see their disappointed faces when she said she wanted to be alone.

First Fiona had asked if she could transfer to another magical school. They’d gone so far as to tour the one that was just off the railroad in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. Around it one of the largest wizard only towns in America had grown, and both school and town were completely invisible to Muggles.

Fiona had actually like it, liked that they’d done away with some of the Old World traditions that hung around Magnus Grex, like Houses and Prefects.

That is what upset her. That Prefect badge pinned to her sweater, reflected so shiny and bright in the mirror. It had been what set off the panic. Her friends where going to see the badge, comment on it, congratulate her and hug her. The thought of all that praise had turned her stomach.

But why?

She loved that she was selected to be a Prefect. It was her badge coming in the mail that made her change her mind and agree to return to Magnus. She pictured herself in the halls, directing first years, encouraging second years, maybe getting more students to the Potions club so she could tutor them, something she adored doing.

All those thoughts calmed her. Picturing the nameless faces of new students made her happy. It was the familiar faces of her closest friends that upset her.

She pushed back her blonde hair, straightened her yellow sweater, and left the bathroom. Then she turned left and avoided completely the group of Ferres. She would talk to them tonight in the Great Hall or in their rooms, no need to dwell on it now.

Once the boat landed and they were walking through the halls of the school she felt better. Friends waved to her and she waved back. She hugged and kissed people on the cheek and only kind of tried to hid her Prefect badge so people wouldn’t notice it.

She took a seat with the other Ferres, and there was James, where he always sat, leaning over to talk to Rae at the Cervus table. God he was still cute.

Fiona pushed her hair back and called his name. He turned, surprised for a moment, but then smiled at her. She smiled backed and waved as friendly as she could.

See, she said to herself, I knew it wasn’t about him.

Then there were the first years, all lined up, squirming and fidgeting. You could always tell the muggle born, they were the ones with eyes so wide the looked like they might fall out. Fiona knew most people hated this part, but she loved it. She would stand up and greet each new Ferre. She would hug them and tell them how happy she was they were part of her house.

As the ceremony began she felt comfortable, avoiding thought of the long night ahead in a dorm room full of friends she didn’t want to talk to.

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Rae waved back at James just before the headmaster began his speech. Now, to the exciting parts. We will be having multiple clubs this year. Herbology,Dueling,Potions,Charms, and the most popular one among the students, the four Quidditch teams." Rae glanced to her side, noticing Sam had made her way to the table at last. "You made it! Did you hear? My Herbology club was approved!" Rae grinned broadly to her friend, her voice vibrating with excitement. The headmaster announced that the feast had started, and instantly food materialized in front of them.

Knowing that Sam's attention would be quickly, if not immediately stolen, Rae added lightly, "You know I helped a first year in here earlier. She seemed terrified of the sorting ceremony. Something about an older student told her the Sorting Hat would take a bit of her hair if she was nervous.." Rae tried to look upset, but it was too great of an effort to keep from smiling. "Can't imagine who put that into her head..."

The feast was as grand and delightful as it was every year. True to form, Ra had woken up midway through to poke his head out of her cloak and settle into her lap; accepting the meat scraps Rae secretly fed to him. As dessert took the place of the main course, Rae glanced over to see if James was almost done eating. She couldn't see him very well from where she sat, so she pulled out a scrap of magical paper and sent a hummingbird origami fluttering over the tops of the other students. The tiny bird landed gently in front of him and unfolded itself.

Hey, did you hear that my Herbology club got approved? You're joining, right?! How was your break?

Rae glanced over to Sam as the other Cervus' enjoyed their desert. "I'm going to head back to the dorm. Want me to claim our bunks again?" Rae considered Sam one of, if not her only, best female friend. Veronica was more like her older, smarter, sister and James was a guy so he didn't count. There was something special about having that one person in your house that you could talk to and do everything with. Over the summer, Rae hadn't been able to visit Sam due to her internship with her mother and then volunteering with the muggles and coming back to school early for Herbology.

Rae waiting for Sam to answer and then stood, holding Ra in her arms. She made her way out of the hall, as a few people had started to leave. On her way out, she caught sight of Lucius- the boy she had been asked to tutor in Herbology this year. He was talking to someone, but she couldn't see the male's face because his back was to her. At the same table would be Sebastian, so Rae quickly directed her attention elsewhere. In no particular hurry, Rae headed out of the Great Hall.

The halls were alive with chatter once again. It was refreshing and comforting. Rae gently put Ra on the floor to walk along side her as she made her way towards the dorm tower.

James was just finishing dessert when a piece of parchment landed in his lap. He uncrumpled the piece of paper, immediately recognising Rae's neat penmanship. Was he joining the Herbology club? He thought for a moment. He'd hate to disappoint Rae but he had Quidditch practice to consider too.

"Accio quill and ink," he whispered, moving his wand as subtley as possible. He watched for the items, hoping no one would see them as they came whizzing through the doors to his side. He quickly unscrewed the lid of the ink and replied, "Congrats. I'll have to check how intensive Quidditch practice will be this year, but I'll do my best. Summer was okay, Chicago's as nice as ever. How was your summer?" James slid the ink and quill into the pocket of his robes and folded the paper into an airplane, sending his reply to Rae by way of jabbing her ear with the nose of the plane.

Janes looked up the table, searching for his fellow prefect. He wasn't sure how he felt when he realised it was Fiona. He pinned his badge to his jumper and stood up, heading to the middle of the table, where most of the first years were sitting, "Now first years, soon as your ready, follow me and I'll show you to our common room and dorm," a considerable number of first years began milling around him. He made sure to catch Fiona's attention, "Are you okay bringing the rest up?"

He began leading the group of students to the common room, pointing out rooms they'd be using during their time at Magnus "And this is the Ferre common room," He gave the password to the portrait, "Keep on your toes with the password, it changes pretty often," he held the door open letting the first years enter before him, "Now boys, if you'd like to follow me and I will show you to your dorms. Girls, you're gonna have to hang tight until Fiona gets up. I'm not allowed in your tower."

James lead the boys to their dorms, directing each boy to the right room before skipping up to his own room to change out of his uniform and get his small part of the room the way he liked it.

Though it didn’t show on her face, her anxiety left Fiona’s stomach a churning mess. She took a few bites of some of the lighter foods, sipped water, and tried very hard to focus on what everyone was talking about.

“Not hungry?” One friend asked.

“I think I might still be seasick from the ride.”

That seemed to gain her some sympathy, and folks left her to herself.

She thought about the one bright spot of the feast, when Dumbledore had mentioned the clubs, Potions club to be specific.

She smiled to herself. Something to focus on, something to do with her time. And Rae’s Herbology club had been accepted. Well, that would be a little awkward, she and Rae hadn’t spoke much since the breakup with James, but, well, if they were just talking about Herbology it might not be so bad.

In fact, just considering that, considering talking to her friends about only school, about Charms and Potions and Muggle Studies made her stomach settle.

She had things to do, responsibilities, that would help keep her mind off her apparent social anxiety.

Speaking of responsibilities, as a Prefect she needed to help get the first years up to Ferre’s common room. She glanced around the table to see who her fellow fifth year Prefect was. Her eyes fell on a bright badge pinned to James’ robes.

Great, yet another awkward situation she’d have to deal with.

James stood up and called the first years to follow him through the castle. Fiona stood to follow, but stayed behind the main body, gathering up two first year girls, most likely Muggle born, whose eyes had become fixed on two ghosts drifting absently through the dinner table.

“Come on ladies, we don’t want to get left behind. You’ll see plenty more of the ghosts when they drift into the showers.”

This was answered with squeals that were equal part fear and delight. By the time they made it to the portrait, it has swung closed and she showed the girls how to open it with the password.

“Now boys, if you’d like to follow me and I will show you to your dorms. Girls, you’re gonna have to hang tight until Fiona gets up.” James obviously hadn’t noticed Fiona and the two first years enter the common room, “I’m not allowed in your tower.”

“Which is the only reason we girls can sleep at night.” All the little heads spun at Fiona’s words.

For just a second James and Fiona looked at each other and things felt just fine, like her summer of self doubt and worry never happened.

“Let’s go ladies, and let’s not have any fights about who gets the beds by the windows.”

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