Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 18:54:39 GMT
From: jpw20@kent.ac.uk
Subject: Hogwarts story: begginings part 2

I apologise for the delay guys, internet wasn't working :(.

Usuall hype. Harry Potter isn't mine, cheers J K Rowling. This is all lies,
I'm a bit of a compulisve lier like that. This is not for the young, if
your not allowed to read/watch porn then don't!

Hope you enjoy.

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Hogwarts story begginings: part 2

Barely an hour later Yoni was walking up to the imposing doors of
Hogwarts. Two features of the grounds of Hogwarts caught his eye, the
sprawling forest and the lake. The actual castle, that was his destination,
was far more interesting than some trees and a huge puddle however.

The castle looked someone just didn't know when to stop. There were obvious
magical extension and apart from the very tallest tower, every single spire
had another tower sticking out of it. It probably had dungeons too. It was
a large castle, no doubt about that.

The doors he was heading too looked to be made of oak and be heavily
reinforced. Looks like it would take a troll or giant to get into the
castle if the folk inside didn't want to open the door. He thought.

He proceeded up the steps and knocked on the door. It was opened by an old
man, bent with labour and a mean cast to mouth and eye. His long grey hair
ran lankly down his back but little enough of that remained as most of him
was bald.

"You're the new student heh? Well follow me, and don't touch anything! Bad
enough I have to clean up your messes without you smelly lot breaking
things left and right." He continued muttering in a similar vein as he led
Yoni deeper into the castle. Given no opportunity Yoni didn't bow, nor did
he say anything. Judging a person by nothing more than their status was a
big mistake and had earned this unnamed person a loss of respect.

Eventually the man stopped in front of a statue of a griffon. A severe old
lady was just hurrying up an adjacent corridor. Her steel-grey hair was set
in a severe bun on her head and square glasses framed her face. She was a
witch it looked like you shouldn't cross.

"Thank you filch you may return to your duties now." She said

Filch. Yoni thought. I shall remember.

The new woman turned to Yoni

"My name is professor McGonagall. I am the deputy headmistress and shall
take you to see the Headmaster, professor Dumbledore. I apologise for not
meeting you at the door, but I have only just finished teaching a
class. You arrived earlier than we expected."

"The apology is mine to make professor" Yoni replied, bowing. "My family
has caused great inconvenience to the school in asking that I be accepted
midway in September."

"Yes, you have been accepted in unusual circumstances but this isn't the
first time the professor has accepted unusual students."

And gone against your wishes I think. Yoni thought to himself as he saw the
pinched look in her face, and the flash of her eyes.

"You may use the word dangerous professor, it would be accurate. I must
ensure that I am only dangerous to those who deserve it, and not the
students."

She raised an eyebrow and contented herself with a mere "Indeed!".

With that she turned to the statue and gave what appeared to be the
password "Acid drops" as it caused a moving staircase to be revealed. They
ascended this to the headmasters office.

Inside was the kindly faced Headmaster of which Yoni had heard
much. Professor Dumbledore was an aged man with a great sweep of white
beard and hair, long enough to be tucked into his belt. He had a twinkle in
his eye and a spring in his step however, and gave the impression of great
energy. He was also one of those people whose character gave the impression
of filling all the available space. Yoni couldn't imagine not noticing the
professor even in a crowded room.

Dumbledore stood up with a smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts." He said and
continued, bowing "May you find peace and safety within our walls"

Yoni gave a start and only ingrained habit had him form the correct reply,
which he didn't actually hear. How and when had Professor Dumbledore come
across his families' traditions?

"Please have a seat. Before you can go to your house you must be sorted
into one and before that I would like to discuss your unique position. The
letter your mother sent me was sparse on detail though what she did include
was ominous. What, if I may be indelicate, are you exactly?"

Yoni smiled. "A fair question. Unfortunately I really have no idea. I told
Professor McGonagall that it was my duty to ensure I am not a danger to the
other students and I know I could be if I wanted to be. But I don't, I can
think of no provocation that would compel me to effectively ostracise me
from all human contact. I need less sleep, have gained knowledge and
abilities seemingly at random and am faster and stronger than the average
human. I would like to claim that I am still a homo sapien, but I fear that
may be inaccurate."

Dumbledore regarded him over his fingers, lightly touching the ends to each
other. "You feel you would not be a threat? Will you...change...any
further?"

"I do not believe I will be a threat, but I can only promise that I will
act with honour and best intentions. I would flee the school if I thought I
was becoming a threat, as for worsening, I may get better; your guess is as
good as mine. Better probably, people are notoriously bad at diagnosing
themselves."

Yoni could almost feel professor McGonagall stiffening beside him.

Professor Dumbledore glanced in her direction and back.

"One last thing then, do you object to me mentioning your recent
bereavement when I introduce you at dinner today?"

Yoni quickly stifled a frown. "There is no reason you should not
professor."

Dumbledore nodded "Well then, let us see what house you are to be sorted
into. If, at any time, you feel you need to be alone or have other special
arrangements made let the Head of your House know and we will do what we
can to help you."

With that he got up and picked up a battered old hat from a shelf behind
him.

"The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, all
have produced excellent witches and wizards but they each stress a
particular trait or traits and the Sorting hat will determine in which you
should be placed."

With that the professor put the hat on Yoni's head.

"Hmmm" remarked a small voice in his ear "Another difficult case, this has
not been a good year. Well let's see now. Courage yes and loyalty. Plenty
of brains too I see and a formidable fount of knowledge already, what have
you been doing? Ah...ruthless, there goes Hufflepuff and an indifferent
student at best. Arrogant of your abilities, not Ravenclaw then."

"I'm arrogant?" yoni thought

"Oh yes, very proud of what you already know, and sure that your use of
simple spells negates the necessity of more powerful ones. Ravenclaws
always seek to learn above all else and you wouldn't.

The hat sounded distracted as it said that.

"Ah, what's this? You seek to protect everyone...from
yourself. Interesting. And you thirst to uphold the family honour. Very
well. Better be GRYFFINDOR.  It yelled the last word.

Yoni blinked as a smiling Dumbledore lifted the hat off his head.

"It is disconcerting when the hat yells in this room, but it's an old hat
and should be allowed its foibles. Now professor McGonagall, as head of
Gryffindor house, shall take you to your common room. I suggest you spend
the rest of today learning the schools layout and where all the places you
need to be are. I have no doubt that students will be willing to point you
in the right direction but the teachers are strict about arriving on time.

"Yes professor" Yoni bowed. Turning to McGonagall he bowed again "My honour
to serve."

"Well, I hope that your manners rub off on some of the other students." She
remarked. Yoni was almost surprised to see her smiling. "Though its still
somewhat surprising to have an 11 year old act like an ancient crusader, I
wouldn't do it too much around the other students, I doubt they will
appreciate the gestures."

"Their honour is their concern." Yoni replied. "I will always discharge
mine." Professor McGonagall shot him an inscrutable look and opened her
mouth again, but before she could say anything Dumbledore cut in.

"There is little use in arguing Minerva. Yoni will continue to act in such
a way as that is how he has been raised; it is part of who he is. He will
have to accept the consequences of his actions." Turning to Yoni, however,
he remarked "Sometimes you must let others fight your battles however. We
do not allow fighting in the school and you have an especial reason to
avoid it. Don't forget. Also, the forbidden forest is, surprisingly,
forbidden, as is the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side."

"I will not fail you Professor"

With that Yoni was led out of the Study and swept along many hallways. Yoni
tried to memorise the route but gave up after a while. Probably best to
memorise to and from the entrance hall anyway. Along the way Professor
McGonagall stopped off at her office and handed Yoni a class
schedule. Tomorrow being Friday he saw he was to have Potions with
Slytherin house.  Eventually they reached a portrait of a Pink Lady who
asked in a serene voice for the password.

"Caput Draconis" Said Professor McGonagall. Turning to Yoni she continued
"Don't forget the password else you'll be stuck out here until another
Gryffindor comes along. I must go to teach my next class now, so the rest
of the day is yours. Don't get into trouble." She hurried off. Yoni wasn't
even sure if she saw his bow, but then she didn't have to. The point was he
made it.

Yoni wandered for a while until a bell indicated that lessons ended. This
being the signal for lunch Yoni hurried to the main hall, the first place
he located. He stopped beside the doorway wondering if there was a
particular place to take when he saw professor McGonagall waving to him and
pointing to the penultimate table to his left. He hurried to it.

Most of the Gryffindors were startled by his addition at the table and he
was bombarded by questions. He answered as best he could until the end of
his lunch. He then left feeling a bit like a circus attraction. He had
answered every question from when he arrived to why he was here, though he
didn't tell everything, far from it. He wandered the castle again, finding
his classrooms and important places like the library until dinner. Dinner
was much the same as lunch until Dumbledore stood up at the end of the
meal, and motioned for silence. He quickly received this.

"Although we do not usually accept students once a year has started unusual
circumstances have seen a new student added to our ranks. Yoni Wiccatta, a
new Gryffindor student, arrived today. He has recently suffered the loss of
his father so I beg you respect his privacy and do not press him for
details he is unwilling to give. I am sure you will support him as he will
need help adjusting to our routine. I also beseech those of you who delight
in practical jokes to reign in your impulses for as long as you can." At
this his twinkling eyes seem to settle for a moment on a pair of red-headed
twins further down the Gryffindor table who simply smiled at each other and
winked at Yoni.

After dinner he followed the general press of Gryffindors, still answering
questions, to the Gryffindor common room. There he sought sanctuary in his
dormitory, which was one question he managed to get answered: where would
he be sleeping?

Yoni slumped on the only unclaimed bed and pressed the heel of his hands on
his eyes. He hadn't realised crowds were so...hectic.

"I know how you feel" said a voice.

Yoni looked over and saw one of the few people whose name he remembered
from the blur of dinner. Harry Potter. Standing beside him was ... Yoni
stretched his memory. Ronald Weasley, that's right. Introduced as Ron.

"Oh?" Yoni responded

"Yeah, usually I'm the one in the spotlight. It was quite nice not being
stared at."

Yoni grinned and offered a seated bow "Glad to be of service."

"Do you really have pet dragons?" burst out Ron, Harry stared at him, and
he went a faint pink. "Well that's what everyone's saying" he muttered.

Yoni laughed this time "I hadn't realised our families reputation had grown
so. No we have no dragons."

"Your families famous?" asked Harry

"Say rather, legendary. We are a pure-blood family, for what its worth,
that has pots of money. For centuries we haven't had to lift a finger if we
didn't want to, but the urge to work and learn is strong in our family so
we have only added to our fortunes. We have discovered many useful things
about magic and we have always been powerful and skilled wizards. Indeed,
my father duelled with Voldemort himself and lived to tell the tale."

At that last, Ron gasped. Before he could say anything Yoni continued, as
if there had been no interruption.

"I will not apologise for saying his name. Fearing a name is silly. Respect
Voldemort, even fear him if you must, but his name is a collection of
consonants and syllables with no intrinsic value. It's not as if saying it
has any impact."

"One reason why my family is so intriguing is our mystique. Unless there is
no-one to act as a teacher then the family teaches magic to its children
itself, I have never, nor would ever have, gone to a school without my
father dying.

"And what about that." Said Harry, pointing to his staff, propped up beside
his bed where he had put it.

"My staff? I barely notice I have it nowadays. I inherited it from my
grandfather. It has been in the family for centuries, and picks its next
custodian. I didn't think I could use it here, so it will probably stay in
the dormitory for the most part."

That wasn't an answer, and Harry looked as if he knew it, but didn't press
the issue.

The three quickly got to talking, Ron and Harry filled Yoni in about the
teachers and their lessons. Harry told of how he had made the Quidditch
team while Ron filled Yoni in about a girl called Hermione.

"Could you guys help me find classrooms and things? I know where they are,
but I can only get to them from the entrance hall right now." Yoni asked.

The two quickly agreed and Yoni felt he could count them as friends.

After that conversation lagged and it wasn't long before the three of them,
and the others of his dorm who had come in not long before: Neville, Dean
and Seamus, where settling in for sleep.

About an hour before midnight Ron and Harry slipped out and returned near 2
hours later.

Interesting Yoni thought as he lay, looking up at the top of his
four-poster not the slightest bit sleepy.