Hogwarts

'One, two, three... Aguamenti.' Daniel whispered, tapping his wand at the rusty water goblet in his hand. He paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder to listen to any sign of the others. It was seven forty-five am and he was the only person awake in the Gryffindor common room, all he could hear was the faint crackling of the fire and muffled snores coming from the boy's dormitories. The water goblet in his hand was now half full with water, Daniel grinned and set it aside. He had been practising that spell ever since the crack of dawn. Daniel yawned and gazed into the fire before him. Feeling immensely satisfied, he made a mental tick on his "to-do" list right beside "Learn Aguamenti spell". One less thing to do, he thought happily to himself. Daniel rubbed his eyes and sank further into the soft couch, unaware that he was beginning to fall asleep.

Just then, a handsome barn owl soared in through an open window. Daniel jerked awake. The owl fluttered beside him and dropped a letter on his knee. 'You were supposed to wait for breakfast at the Great Hall to deliver mail, Rem,' Daniel muttered irritably and ripped open the envelope. Remmy hooted and started cleaning his brilliant golden feathers. As Daniel had expected, it was just a letter from home reminding him to write once every week, to see if he were all right - nothing special. Daniel pocketed the letter and looked around the common room for a spare bit of parchment and quill. Once he had found them, he settled down on the ruby couch and began to scribble down a response. Lucy, Everything's fine at Hogwarts, it's only the first day back, after all. Tell mum and dad that I'm all right, and stay out of trouble, will you? I'll write on Thursdays. - Daniel

Usually dead to the world Marcus was snoring peacefully until there was a light tickling under his nose. The touch woke him up with a fright and he found Cleo, his beautiful Bengal cat perched on his stomach, her tail waving precariously in front of his face. He groaned, this was way too early for him. He glanced at his Patek-Philippe watch, a gift from his father, and groaned again. He awkwardly sat himself up onto his elbows his hair a complete birds nest. He might as well stay up he figured. Cleo was still comfortably lying on his stomach and ever so gently so as not to irritate her he picked her up and cradled her. With her still in his arms he flung the sheets off and twisted his legs over the side of the bed. It was a bit of a chilly morning and Marcus shivered. Thankfully the cats body heat was a welcome warmth. His feet on the other hand protested the cold floorboards. He quickly and not too quietly shuffled to his wardrobe to find some socks and clothes. He was having trouble getting the small cupboard door open so put attempted to put Cleo down. She was reluctant and dug her sharp nails into his shoulder. He winced but managed to pry the cats claws off. She wasn't to pleased with the cold floor either, so quickly scampered back to the warmth of his bed. He shook his head at the spoilt cat and turned to get his clothes.

He dressed quickly and made sure to put on some of his fluffy socks. There were a bit embarrassing but they were a gift from his autistic little sister and it was still early so he didn't figure anyone else would be up. He lethargically made his way down the steps, his feet landing heavily on the stone. On his way down he attempted to tidy his ruffled hair. It was pretty futile but it did help. As he entered the common room, the blissful warmth from the fire greeted him like an old friend. Casually he made his way to the good old fashioned couches, the kind that were so comfortable that you could believe you were sleeping on a marshmallow. He was completely unaware that there was someone in the chair beside him. He plonked himself down and proceeded to place his heavy head into his hands.

Remmy screeched excitedly and began nipping at Daniel's fingers, urging him to hurry. 'All right, all right, off you go!' Daniel leaned over and tossed the letter out the open window, watching with amusement as the owl soared after it. He yawned again and ran a hand through his long brown rumpled hair. It was still quite early, although some students would have usually used this time to get dressed and ready for breakfast. To his surprise, a boy was sitting right next to him. He looked very tired, and almost on the verge of falling asleep. When did he get here? Daniel thought eerily to himself, staring wide eyed. He could feel his fingers trembling, and that was a common sign for him to leave and seek the sanctuary of his bedroom. It was perfect because he had a room to himself, the other three four post beds were empty for any friends the students wanted to share them with, and effectively Daniel had none. He stood up abruptly and a little too quickly, his foot bumped into the end table and the water goblet that he had before fell with a loud clang, spilling water all over the floor.

'Bugger,' Daniel muttered angrily, turning faintly pink. Concentrating hard on cleaning up the mess, he avoided glancing back at the mysterious boy on the couch who was probably stifling a laugh. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and waved it at the small puddle of water. Slowly, it began to evaporate and disappear.

The warmth of the fire and comfort of the sofa was sending Marcus back to sleep. He was beginning to doze off when all of a sudden there was a loud clang. Marcus startled awake, his hair whipped into his eye causing sudden pain. He pressed his hand firmly against it.

"Dammit..." he muttered to himself. Once the pain subsided which was rather quickly he looked up to see what had caused the sound. He noticed another boy kneeling on the floor, his back towards him so Marcus couldn't see what he was doing. He had no idea where he had come from but he looked like he needed a hand. Wearily Marcus got up and went to the kneeling boy. As he neared he saw that it was the goblet that had fallen off of the small end table.

"Hey mate, you alright?" He extended his arm to help the guy up.

'Fine, thank you,' Daniel said quietly, taking his hand after several moments. He stuffed his wand hastily back in his pocket and placed the goblet on the table. 'I'm sorry to wake you, b-by the way,' He stammered and ran a hand through his hair as an attempt to ease some tension. Daniel actually felt a little surprised at the way he was acting, because normally he would have run away and hidden in his room by this time. Feeling a little bit brave, he a took a quick breath in. 'I'm Daniel,' he said. 'I've - er, I've got to go. Breakfast is going to start soon, you know. I'll - erm, I'll see you around.' And with that, Daniel collected his books and bag and hurried to the door, tapping it quickly, as the Fat Lady would have still been asleep at this time. He pressed his ear against the door and heard her making grunting noises and muttering something rather rude. Finally, she swung the door open and scowled at Daniel as he scurried down the staircase. He was really hoping to never see that boy again. Even though that was thoroughly impossible, they were in the same house, so they were bound to meet again. Daniel didn't even last long enough to get his name.

The Great Hall was very dull and empty. The four long tables stood silently with sets of plates and other silver wear sitting patiently and neatly where they were. Daniel could see a small group of girls sitting on the Ravenclaw table, and a very dreary looking first year boy on the Hufflepuff table. Daniel hesitated for a moment then quickly made his way to the empty Gryffindor table, pulling out his copy of The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 7) by Miranda Goshawk. He glanced over to the teacher's table in the front. Professor McGonagall was sitting quietly on her own, watching over the hall with her square spectacles like a hawk.

"Fine, thank you," the boy said somewhat reluctantly. He eventually took Marcus' extended hand, stuffing his wand into his pocket.

"I'm sorry to wake you, b-by the way," He stammered and ran a hand through his hair as an attempt to ease some tension. Marcus could see that the boy was shy, clearly not too good with people. He wanted to reassure the boy that it was alright. He started to open his mouth to say something but the guy took a quick breath in before speaking again.

"I'm Daniel, I've - er, I've got to go. Breakfast is going to start soon, you know. I'll - erm, I'll see you around." He was rather abrupt and without waiting for Marcus to reply started gathering his stuff and made for the door. Utterly shocked and surprised Marcus just stood there. He was confused at Daniels hurry to get away and couldn't figure out why he was so nervous around him. The name actually rung a small bell in Marcus' drowsy mind. Of course he had seen him a few times in the common room but it was the fact that he was never with anyone and that's why he had stuck in Marcus' mind. To him he found it strange that he didn't have a single friend. It made him feel slightly guilty. He felt that he should redeem himself and make amends with Daniel. Maybe even make friends with him. Marcus' stubbornness would not let Daniel get away that easily. Determined to talk to him again Marcus quickly ran back up stairs took off his fluffy socks and put some decent socks on with shoes and completed his uniform with his robe. He glanced over to his bed and saw that his sweet Cleo was still curled up in a ball, mixed in with his blanket. He was about to run back down stairs and head to the Great Hall when he halted just at the top of the stairway as he remember to grab his wand, bag and books for his first lessons. Doing a quick double check that he hadn't forgotten anything he headed to the Great Hall.

As he entered the Great Hall there were only a handful of people scattered around each of the four tables. Of course the tables were all set ready for the students. As Marcus scanned the room he saw that Professor McGonagall was staring intently around the room and as her eyes passed over him he gave her a quick nod and a tip of his imaginary hat. He started to walk towards the Gryffindor table and easily spotted Daniel. Casually he dumped his bag right next to Daniel and sat down next to him.

"You left in quite a hurry before. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. Marcus. Marcus Lowth." He was probably being a bit forward for the shy boy but he wanted to get the guy out of his shell, especially since it was their last year. Daniel didn't really acknowledge him at first and dipped his nose a little bit further into his book, which Marcus noticed was a grade 7 book of spells. He was impressed. Marcus was actually have a bit of trouble learning all of the spells and was falling behind in his classes. That's when he got the idea. This guy was smart. He always had his nose in a book and got top of his classes.

"Say, that's quite a high level book you've got there. I'm..." He found himself actually reluctant to say it aloud. To admit he needed help wasn't something he did often, "I'm having a bit of trouble with some of my spells. I- I was wondering if you could possibly help me? I can give you something in return if you want."

Students have never usually spoken to Daniel unless it was the usual, "Hey, can I copy your notes from Arithmancy?", "Got any spare quills, Dan?" or something of that kind. The strange thing to him was that these people would seem to know him very well, and sometimes he would hear them saying things like "Go ask that guy over there, he's probably done it.", but he never knew any them personally, let alone their names. And nobody had ever approached him to start a friendly conversation, either. Unless it was a particular Professor praising him on doing good work. Never. Not even once. Daniel found himself stuck. He didn't want to simply get up and leave, that would be very rude, and he'd hate to come off as that. More and more students began to flood the Great Hall, and the dishes before them suddenly filled with food. Toast, eggs, bacon, jugs of pumpkin juice, students were filling in and before he knew it, Daniel found himself completely surround by other students. There was no escape.

'Oh - well, Hello Marcus,' Daniel began nervously. He couldn't figure out whether Marcus was being friendly, or trying to persuade him to write his essays for the rest of the year. Either way, he could have possibly ended up being a friend, and Daniel didn't want to pass the opportunity of having friends, especially if they made the effort to approach him first. 'I'm sorry about before, you see - I - I wouldn't mind that, yes, that's fine, I-I'll help you... Erm, any - any spells you're having trouble with in particular?' He pulled out his wand and pointed it to a nearby goblet, unaware that he was beginning to ramble aimlessly due to nerves. 'I l-learnt this spell this morning, and according to my book we're g-going to be learning it very s-soon... A-aguamenti!' A thin stream of water erupted from the tip of his wand and into the goblet.

A steady stream of students were filling in. He saw Daniels face cross with the thought of escaping before someone sat down on the other side of him. As more and more students sat down the table started to fill with food. All kind of tantalising aromas filled the room and Marcus' stomach began to rumble, so while Dan started to talk he steadily piled up his plate with a bit of everything. Two slices of toast, some boiled eggs, definitely bacon and a nice beef sausage.

"Oh - well, Hello Marcus," Daniel began nervously, "I'm sorry about before, you see - I - I wouldn't mind that, yes, that's fine, I-I'll help you... Erm, any - any spells you're having trouble with in particular?" The poor guy was babbling just a bit and still continued on, "I l-learnt this spell this morning, and according to my book we're g-going to be learning it very s-soon... A-aguamenti!"

Marcus raised his eyebrow as a steady stream of water expelled from Dan's wand.

"That's pretty impressive. You learnt that this morning? It would take me at least a week to remember the proper pronunciation and wand movements. So you're really willing to help me?" Marcus let a little bit of hope slip into his voice before he quickly covered it with a cough and stuffed a quick mouthful of bacon. Still with his mouth partly full he enquired,

"So, Doeu have any fwree periods? I'f got one before lunch." He swallowed the thick lump of meat and quickly gulped some pumpkin juice, "If not how 'bout after classes?"

Raven's intense eyes sprung open as her owl Misty used it's beak to bite her nose as she slept. "Dammit" She said flicking Misty away and rubbing her rather red nose. She got out of her sleeping quarters and jumped into the small bathroom that most kids used. She sighed heavily looking her self in the mirror her nose was bright red and swollen, she clutched her wand and thought for a moment...and a light bulb appeared on her head. "Espotuos Levetiocus" She muttered and swung her wand around her nose. Poof! Her nose was back to normal it took her a while she never thought she would use that spell... but thanks to her dreadful owl she did.


She grabbed her bag filled with her books and all of that sort before heading to the great hall. The hall was huge and kids were starting to gather up. She found her self sitting next to two boys, she knew them only because she occasionally saw them roaming the halls. She glanced up and greeted them. "Hullo" She said waving at them before grabbing some toast and eggs oh and a nice warm crousant. She filled her cup with orange juice and after that prune juice and she easily nibbled on her crousant before conversing with some people around the table till her friends arrived and she escorted her self away from Griffindor's eating table.

Cassie had already woke up, she'd been awake for a hours now, as she was used to a time zone that was a bit behind the one she was currently in now at Hogwarts. She was stretched out on the black leather sofa with a bored look on her face as she stared at the charmed green flames in the fireplace. She'd been playing with colours, pointing her ebony wand at the dancing flames to add a silver hue into the dark and light greens. Not a sound left her lips as she worked to improve her skills with charms, amused to see her wordless magic work so well.

With a sigh she stood and held out her hand, " Accio bag," Cassie muttered as the mentioned item flew to her and was caught easily. With no further noises, and a simple movement of her wand, the charmed fire was extinguished and the brunette strode from the common room. The dungeons wall closed up behind her as she made her way down the hall and up a few sets of stairs, cursing whatever made the blasted things move as she went.

Breakfast hadn't begun yet, Cassie noticed as she stepped into the great hall and found a place to sit at the Slytherin table by the back of the room with the wall behind her. Her wand was tucked into the waistband of her skirt, hidden beneath her black robes, and she pulled a thick book from the bag she placed on the bench beside her.

The American girl didn't waste any time as she opened New Theory of Numerology to the bookmark that showed where she'd left off the previous night. It wasn't a required book to read for Arithmancy but the young woman thought it would be a good idea to prepare for her classes. She'd read this book twice through already, a considerably smaller number than all her other textbooks.

When people began to appear, the Slytherin pretended not to notice as she replaced the bookmark and ate a piece of toast and some bacon before continuing her reading. She wasn't looking forward to having Charms first thing but she was definitely looking forward to her last two classes of the day; double Defence Against the Dark Arts. Cassie glanced up and reached out to grasp her goblet of pumpkin juice, taking a careful sip before placing it back on the table. Her hand rested on the pages of the book as she looked around the nearly full room that was buzzing with conversations of the houses and activity as people joked, hugged and otherwise made it known that they had missed their friends over the holidays.

Some people found it easy to express their emotions, others didn't. Cassiopeia was one of the ones who was uncomfortable to do such a thing.

'Oh, no, I-I've got potions before lunch,' said Daniel, feeling a little bit disappointed. 'Sorry, Marcus.' He added quickly, helping himself to some pumpkin juice and stuffing his wand back into his pocket. He couldn't help but notice a Slytherin girl sitting by their table. Slytherins never usually stopped by to chat, unless it was about something nasty. 'After class sounds pretty good,' Daniel murmured, eyeing the girl. He drew his gaze away from her and bent over to pull his timetable out of his bag. Daniel spread the tiny sheet of parchment onto the table. 'Hmm, I've got charms first,' He said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. Charms was his best subject, and he felt a small tinge of hope that Marcus might have had a few classes with him. At least then he might have someone to talk to.

Loud screeches escaped from the doors and echoed throughout the Great Hall, Daniel paused and looked above. A flock of owls soared in, carrying letters and packages of all sorts. 'Mail's here,' He said cheerfully, looking around at all the different species of owls. A package had been dropped just then, landing into the large plate of bacon just a few seats away from him. Daniel grinned at the thought of Remmy, his very own pet owl, and turned back to Marcus. 'Do your parents ever send you any letters?' He said, without stammer or any sign of fear.

"Oh, no, I-I've got potions before lunch. Sorry, Marcus."

Marcus heard the slight tinge of disappointment in his voice. The poor boy definitely needed a friend.

"After class sounds pretty good"

While Daniel muttered this he could see that he was in fact eyeing something else wearily. So as not to be incredibly obvious, Marcus discreetly turned his head to see what was so interesting. To his surprise he found a Slytherin girl had taken a seat at their table. Confused he glanced over at the actual Slytherin table and found that nobody was there. That's why she's over here, Marcus supposed. But it wasn't long before some more Slytherins came in and she took off. It was rather odd. Anyway, turning back to Daniel who had taken out his timetable he proceeded to examine his lessons.

"Hmm, I've got charms first" They mused over it for a bit and Marcus had to take out his own timetable to find out what he had. He aligned it next to Dan's and compared it.

"Hey, look at that. We have Transfiguration together," He scanned further down the list trying to see if he had any other lessons with him, "unfortunately that's all we've got together mate."

Just then the familiar screeching of the owls were heard. There were dozens of them, most different breeds. Their gracefulness at flight, excluding a few dodgy ones, always had fascinated Marcus. He looked to Daniel who was also admiring the owls.

"Mail's here," He said cheerfully

Just then one of the more clumsy owls, dropped a package into the pile of bacon a few seats away from them. Clearly the owls were something of a pleasant thing for Daniel because he was obviously a lot happier. He didn't even stammer when he spoke,

"Do your parents ever send you any letters?"

Unfortunately it was a question that Marcus was reluctant to answer. His parents were from quite a wealthy background and were often away even during the holidays. Marcus rarely saw them but on the rare occasions that he does they showered him with gifts inspired by guilt. They never sent him letters. But not wanting to come off hostile when the guy was finally relaxing a bit he just simply said,

"Nah, they're too busy to." He hoped that Daniel wouldn't push the point. To reduce the risk of him asking further questions he changed topic.

"So are you apart of any clubs? You could probably join the duelling club. I bet you would be unstoppable since you have a knack for remember spells."

'Hmm, I might,' He said only mildly interested, admiring a handsome eagle owl soar over his head and out the doors of the Great Hall. He wondered if Remmy made it home safely to deliver his letter, there was a time where it seemed too dangerous to even take a step outside of home. Sometimes home did not seem safe, either. Those days were long gone, now. But Daniel still felt a little afraid now and then. 'A-are you any good at Quidditch?' He said timidly. Daniel had never really been that good at Quidditch, but still did support Gryffindor all the way. Especially when it came to decorations. He really enjoyed helping in that. It was a little struggle when it came to Quidditch at Hogwarts and at home, his father was a Ravenclaw and his mother was a Hufflepuff. They would have little arguments over the best team and whatnot, and neither of them ever wanted to mention Gryffindor. Daniel's parents thought it was a little unfair that Gryffindor had seemed very favoured among the rest, and as much as Daniel would have liked to disagree, he couldn't help but know deep down that that was a little bit true.

Classes were going to start very soon. Daniel packed away his books and gulped down the last of his pumpkin juice. He wondered what Marcus's family were like. Were they all in Gryffindor? Did he have any siblings? He yawned again and rubbed his eyes, deciding not to bombard him with too many questions.

"Hmm, I might," He seemed a little distracted and not completely interested, but Marcus wasn't too bothered.

"A-are you any good at Quidditch" Daniel stammered a little.

Marcus smirked, this was a good topic. He loved Quidditch. It was one of the things that he excelled at. He loved the freedom that it enabled him, the speed that he could go and the risks that he could take. His parents didn't even know he played Quidditch. When he was home though he would talk endlessly with his sister and her carer about the games. She would clap and cheer when he described the highlights, even booing when he talked about the games against Slytherin. He loved his sister and was in a way greatful that his parents were rich and could offer her the best help, despite them not being around.

"Quidditch is the best man. I'm the Captain of the Gryffindor team! Bout the only thing I'm really good at."

He did a quick check of his watch and saw that classes were going to start soon. When he looked back up Daniel was already getting his gear together. Marcus though what his family was like. He noticed that when Daniel asked about the letter a shadow of a smile had graced his lips. They probably were close. In a way Marcus envied his imaginery theory about Daniels family but didn't let it get to him. He had never been the jelous type. Scoffing down the last mouthfuls of his breakfast Marcus made to stand up.

"I'll see you in Transfig." He gave him a smile and a nod of his invisible hat.

On the way down he noticed his buddy Jake, he walked over and started a small conversation with him. They ended with a good handshake and bro hug before heading off to Potions.

Mail arrived, bringing plenty of noise along with it as students received their letters from parents and sent their own on their merry way back. A snowy owl landed in front of her book and Cassie glanced up in annoyance, recognizing the bird as her mother's.

" Yes, Athena?" The witch asked politely as she closed her book and put it in her bag, reaching to untie the parchment attached to the owl's leg. The owl gave an indignant hoot and pointedly looked away, Cassie's quick hands untying the string. " Help yourself to some food," the Slytherin said easily as she stood and turned, no second glances at the bird as it stared after the girl. She left the great hall quickly, stuffing the letter from her mother into her bag.

She'd memorized her timetable and the rooms they were in as she slowly made her way down the hall with her bag weighing her shoulder down heavily. The stairs shifted while she was on them and she cursed under her breath, feeling her annoyance grow.

" Bloody Merlin," the American muttered, sounding just like any other of the British students in the school. " These blasted stairs can..." Her continuation was unheard by others as she mumbled the rest, sprinting to avoid the stairs moving her anywhere else. Well, on the up side, she had made it to the third floor where the charms class was located. Cassie let out a sigh as she shook her head and strode down the hall, still cursing the stairs under her breath.

Marcus made his way through the hallway, passing students and often stopping for a quick chat. As he reached the stairs he often enjoyed when they moved and took him somewhere else. He was at the last stairway until his floor to get to his potions class until the thing started to move and take him away. He wasn't particulaly bothered as in his class they were mainly just studying for N.E.W.T's. The potions where getting harder and required more study in which Marcus didn't really want to give. As the stairs halted and he stepped off he realised that he was dropped off near the newly hung portraits of Harry, Hermione and Ron. His jovial mood darkened slightly as he remembered the dark time.

He still couldn't believe that it was only last year that they had defeated the Dark Lord. He had known Harry, not particularly well but because they were on the same Quidditch team he had chatted to him. In that time he and his sister were moved around the world constantly. He couldn't believe that it took the destruction of the wizarding world for his parents to take an interest in him and his sister. Thanks to their wealth they were able to go to different places which wasn't too bad. His dad tried to make it sound like a holiday but it was too stressful knowing that people he knew were going to die. It was devastating knowing that one of his good mates in his little posse had been killed. It struck him again at how fortunate he was but at the same time it had seemed cowardly. That his parents would rather escape then bother to help.

He started to move his feet towards the other set of stairs that would take him to the right floor but never left his eyes from the portrait until he reached midway. He glanced at his watched and realised that if he didn't hurry he would be late. It didn't really prompt him though so he simply walked slightly faster than his usual steps. He was the last one to enter his class room and Prof. Slughorn had already set up.

"Morning sir." Marcus acknowledged and casually walked to his seat next to Jessica. She was a mousy looking girl but had quite the cheeky tongue and would always make the lesson much more fun.

"Why, how kind of you to grace us with your presence Master Lowth." Slughorn replied in his pompous tone. It was sometimes difficult to determine whether he was being sarcastic or not.

"Of course Professor. I wouldn't miss your class for the world." He backchatted with the class responding with some covered laughs.

Professor Slughorn just sighed and went back to what they would be learning this semster and what potions they would be taught. Marcus was only half aware and instead entertained himself by talking to Jessica who had an opinion on everything.