Chapter Text
With a full belly, and a beautiful feeling of satisfaction, Sebastian and Wulf made their way towards the entrance of the hall, as an older boy to their suddenly right spoke up, “All Slytherins, please line up here!” He had short light brown hair and blue eyes, and Sebastian spotted a girl about the same age standing next to him as she also called out, “Come on! No dawdling, curfew is in 10 minutes.” She smiled as the younger kids slowly started to line up. “We don’t have until tomorrow… Well, I guess while you’re working out how to stand in a straight line, we can introduce ourselves.” She smiled again before she continued, “My name is Romilda Carrow and he…” She nodded towards the boy. “…is Atticus MacNair.” He shot them a smile and then continued, “We are both 6th years and the Slytherin Prefects, and we will try to make sure to help you find your way at Hogwarts!” Romilda suddenly chimed in, “And that you won’t break any rules in the process,” making some of the students smile. She spun around and called out, “Come follow me, it’s time for you to see your dorms and the Slytherin Common Room.”
They followed her and Sebastian couldn’t keep his mouth from falling open as he took in the castle and its interior, amazed at both the grandness and the homeliness it gave off. After a while they found themselves in the dungeons, and they were all awed as a giant stone snake gave way to an old and ornate-looking silver door.
Atticus stepped forward and turned around towards them. “To make sure no unannounced visitors can just wander in and out of your dorms, all the common rooms in Hogwarts require a password, so I advise you to remember this, or you’ll have to spend your night in the dungeons.” He crossed his arms and Romilda spoke up, “And I can tell you from experience, there are nicer places!” She shot them a wicked grin and the first years laughed.
“Now listen up,” Atticus spoke up again as he turned towards the door and murmured, “Pureblood!” loud enough so everyone could hear it.
After a second, the big door started opening with a low scratching noise that sounded like wood dragging over stone, until it fell open with a loud thud.
Atticus shot them a swift grin over his shoulder. “Now come on in!”
Sebastian and Wulf met each other’s gazes, both mouthing, “Wicked!” as they made their way into the Common Room, and he let his eyes move over the room, taking in all the details.
It was nicely decorated and all tinted in light blue light that fell in through four big rectangular windows that showed what Sebastian thought looked like the bottom of the Black Lake. To his left there was a big ornate fireplace in which flames flickered weakly. It faced a big old-looking sofa and two big green and silver armchairs.
“Now from here on we will leave you to find your own way.” Romilda smiled as she continued, “Up there…” She gestured towards a dark wooden staircase. “…are your dorms, so I wish you a restful first night at Hogwarts.” She smiled and, with a wave, made her way towards a group of older-looking girls.
“Perfect.” Atticus clapped his hands together. “I also wish you all the best. In case you have any questions, don’t be shy, just ask me, I won’t hex you.” He smiled. “With that, I will leave you here, and have a good night.” They all nodded at him, and Sebastian shot him a smile as he walked away.
Sebastian turned towards Wulf, a goofy grin on his lips. “Ready to explore?”
Wulf met his gaze and nodded eagerly. “More than ready.” He turned around, nodding towards the staircase. “How about we take a look at our dorm room first?” Wulf asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Sure, maybe we’ll meet the rest of our dorm mates,” Sebastian said while they made their way across the common room, pushing past some older-looking students.
They stepped onto the light brown circular staircase until they came across a door that said First Years.
Sebastian stopped for a second and looked at Wulf, who met his gaze. He shot him a quick smile before Sebastian nodded and pushed open the door.
The dorm, like the common room, was tinted in light blue through two big windows that showed the bottom of the Black Lake. It was circular and had five green and silver evenly spaced-out beds with green tapestry.
Each bed was accompanied by a little cupboard of sorts, and Sebastian saw his trunk already leaning next to the middle bed.
“Hey, who are you two?” Sebastian and Wulf looked to their left, where a boy with shoulder-long, perfectly coiffed dark brown hair was sitting on what Sebastian assumed was his bed. He had one eyebrow raised in interest.
“What do you think, Cy? They’re our dorm mates, who else would they be?” another boy spoke up, rolling his eyes. He was also sitting on his bed, to the left of the dark-haired boy. He had dark blond hair which also looked nicely kept.
Wulf and Sebastian shot each other a quick look as the two boys curiously eyed them, before Wulf spoke up. “Yeah, we’re your dorm mates.” He shot them a smile before he continued, “I am Wulf Mulciber, and that…” He nodded towards Sebastian. “…is my best friend Sebastian Sallow… he also is my cousin, by the way.”
Sebastian smiled at the description before he spoke. “We’re basically brothers… spent our entire childhood together.” His lips curved at the memories that flooded him, before he caught himself again. “And who are you two?” he asked the boys, who were still looking at him and Wulf in interest.
The blond boy spoke up, his dark blue eyes twinkling. “I am Enzo Rosier, and that is my good friend Cy!” He shot them a smile as Cy spoke up. “Cygnus Black is my full name…” He looked pensive for a moment before he continued. “Elle told us about you two, she said Tom was most impressed by you two.”
Sebastian’s and Wulf’s eyes lit up at the mention of the name, and Cygnus seemed to notice that, now raising an eyebrow in interest.
“You know Tom!” Wulf suddenly interjected, excitement in his voice. “He was brilliant, he made us heaps of sweets out of thin air, I didn’t even know that was possible.”
Cygnus and Enzo shot each other a quick smirk before Enzo spoke up. “Yeah, he’s one of a kind, and he’s absolutely brilliant at everything. Me and Cy met him at the New Year’s Ball of the Averys last year. He went together with Brax, Linus, and Titus. They’re his closest friends. We also know them very well, Father works closely with the Lestranges and Malfoys.” He explained as Sebastian and Wulf listened in interest.
Cygnus nodded in approval before he continued. “Yeah, Tom is great, he spends most of his holidays here at Hogwarts, though. I think he’s an orphan, that’s what Titus told me anyway. Me and Wally always spend at least two weeks of our summers at Avery Castle in Ireland!”
Sebastian’s head was spinning from all the unfamiliar names, Linus, Titus, Brax, Wally… he was about to ask, when Wulf suddenly spoke up next to him. “Slow down a second, who the hell are all these people, Titus, Brax, and…”
Enzo smiled. “Oh, I am sorry, I forgot that the Mulcibers and Sallows don’t participate in the pureblood events anymore. Brax’s full name is Abraxas Malfoy. He, Titus Avery, and Linus Lestrange are Tom’s closest friends. The Malfoys, Lestranges, and Averys are some of the oldest and most influential pureblood families, together with the Notts, Blacks, Rowles, and Rosiers, that’s my family, by the way. They form the pureblood elite of the wizarding world. They hold a lot of power in the Ministry and we all know each other, as we attend the same balls and events.” He smiled as he explained, and all the information made Sebastian’s head spin again.
Enzo took in a deep breath before he continued, “And the girl, Wally, we mentioned…” His gaze moved towards Cygnus. “…is his sister, her full name is Walburga Black, she’s a fourth year at Hogwarts, and friends with Tom and his mates.”
They were suddenly interrupted when the door opened again, and Jed stuck his head in.
Sebastian shot him a quick smile, as the boy fully stepped into the room. He liked him, he was nice to them and seemed to know a lot about Hogwarts and the wizarding world.
“Hey, how are you guys?” Jed’s gaze moved over all the boys in the room, as he stepped towards his bed on the far right. “I am Bridgett Prince, by the way.” He looked at Enzo and Cygnus as he shot them a quick smile. “But call me Jed.”
“Hey, I am Enzo and that’s my mate Cygnus,” Enzo explained, a grin on his lips.
“But call me Cy!” Cygnus suddenly interjected, making them laugh.
They all settled into their new dorm, unpacking their stuff and getting their books ready for the first day of Hogwarts. Sebastian was smiling to himself as he unpacked his various school robes, already charmed to look like Slytherin robes. Tomorrow they would learn about their classes and would finally get their timetable. He was super excited to see what the first day had in store for him.
As he finished his preparations for the next day, Sebastian glanced at the clock. It was already half past eight in the evening. He wanted to go and explore the castle, but realistically they wouldn’t have enough time left today…
He looked over to Wulf, who was lounging on his bed to his left. He had a wicked smile on his face as he stared towards the ceiling, seemingly lost in his thoughts, making Sebastian smile. He saw something stir in the corner of his eye. As his gaze moved over to his right, he saw Cygnus, who had the bed to Sebastian’s right, pull out an old-looking, almost entirely black book.
Sebastian raised one eyebrow in interest and turned towards the dark-haired boy. “What’s that?”
Cygnus’ head shot up, seemingly surprised, before a smile crossed his face. “Oh, it’s a book Father gave me, apparently it’s super important knowledge about Hogwarts, and I should read it.” He grimaced. “But I’ve looked into it and it’s super boring.” He shook his head before he continued. “It’s a work about Slytherin and goes into the details of how wizards and witches pure of blood are superior to half-breeds and mudbloods,” Cygnus explained.
Sebastian knew that most old pureblood families held the status of their blood purity very highly, often looking down on non-purebloods. He now raised both eyebrows and met Cy’s gaze. “And is he right?” he asked.
Cy looked unsure for a second before he faintly nodded. “I guess so, Father and Mother always say I shouldn’t talk to anyone who isn’t a pureblood, because they will dirty me.” He shrugged. “Never did, so I am not one hundred percent sure, but I’d guess it makes sense.” He looked towards his book again.
Sebastian wasn’t sure. He never really came in contact with any non-purebloods either, most of his family’s friends were pureblood… well, that wasn’t true, there was Rick. He was a half-blood, and he seemed nice and funny, so maybe at the end of the day, that stuff just wasn’t true.
He shook the thoughts from his head and rolled onto his bed, now facing Wulf, who still seemed lost in his own world. “Hey, mate!” Sebastian exclaimed, making Wulf flinch out of his trance, now facing him. Sebastian smirked. “Fancy going down to the common room and exploring a bit?”
Wulf reciprocated his smile and nodded eagerly. “Sounds like a great idea, I could never say no to some quality evening exploring time,” making Sebastian snort.
“Wouldn’t ever have doubted you.” They both jumped up from their respective beds and made their way towards the door.
Sebastian took in the room for a moment, his gaze moving over the beds. Jed seemed to be very invested in a small brown book, his dark hair almost brushing the pages as he leaned over it, while Enzo and Cy were sitting between their beds on the left side of the room, chatting and comparing some of their school stuff.
As Sebastian pushed open the door, he smiled to himself. He liked his new dorm mates, they all seemed like stand-up blokes. Suddenly Wulf pushed past him, throwing him from his thoughts.
“Last one in the common room is a fat Puffskein!” he shouted as he raced off down the stairs, making Sebastian laugh out loud.
“Don’t celebrate too early, Mulciber,” he exclaimed as he ran after the grey-haired boy, both laughing loudly.
To his own annoyance, Sebastian was unable to catch up to Wulf, who grinned victoriously as he was leaning on one of the big green ornate chairs in the common room, his breathing heavy.
“You cheated, you had a head start,” Sebastian exclaimed, visibly annoyed at his defeat.
“Well, if you’d started running first you’d have had the head start.” Wulf shot him a grin, making Sebastian snort.
Before he could reply to Wulf’s snarky remark, his gaze fell onto the brown-haired boy who seemed to be making his way towards them.
“Just as I predicted.” Tom laughed as he stopped next to Wulf and Sebastian, a charming smile on his face. “I knew the next time I’d see you two, you would both be dressed in green and silver,” he said, as Sebastian and Wulf nodded in excitement, making Tom raise both his eyebrows in amusement. “I see you two are more than excited to learn some magic.”
“I can’t wait,” Wulf exclaimed, excitement in his voice. “I want to make sweets appear like you did.” His eyes were wide as he stared at Tom, who had an amused smirk on his lips.
“Oh, I would love to teach you,” he smiled at them, “but it’s a very complicated conjuring charm… not even my classmates manage to pull it off…” He looked pensive for a moment. “Speaking of classmates, I have to find Brax and Linus, we have some things to discuss for tomorrow. It was a pleasure speaking to you guys,” he told them as he slowly turned away, but then suddenly stopped to meet their gazes once more, “and tomorrow you have to tell me all about your little fight with those… Gryffindors.” His expression soured slightly. “The entire school is talking about your vigilant efforts against those bullies.” He shot them his charming smile again. “So see you guys tomorrow, and have an amazing first night.” With those words he fully turned and marched away, up the staircase to what Sebastian believed were the second-year dorms.
The two boys gazed after him in awe, but Sebastian quickly remembered something else, something he had pushed to the back of his mind… their fight! Ogg said they would meet with the headmaster after the welcoming feast… but they never did. He thought that if they really wanted them, some professor would have picked them up by now, at least that was a good sign, Sebastian felt.
He shook his head, shifting his concentration to the fact that they really were at Hogwarts, together, surrounded by amazing people. He turned towards Wulf, who was attentively watching two Slytherin girls play a game of chess in front of the fireplace.
Sebastian took a step towards him and slightly elbowed him into his side. “First evening at Hogwarts and already watching the girls.” He smirked as Wulf jolted and looked at him in annoyance, before he sighed. “I guess I deserve that…” His expression changed into a grin and they both laughed, as they made their way through the common room, exploring every nook and cranny, turning everything that wasn’t nailed to the wall, and inspecting every little artefact they could find.
When they returned to their dorm room one hour later they were both yawning. Sebastian suddenly felt extremely tired, the entire first day catching up to him, saying goodbye to his mum, the train ride, the carriages, the boats, the fight, the feast… everything. He made his way towards his trunk, pulling out his toiletries bag that his mum Sabrina had prepared the night before.
As he walked towards the bathroom his gaze moved over the other beds, all their curtains were already closed, with only Wulf and him not in bed. He quickly went through his evening routine, brushing his teeth, showering, and using the loo, before he changed into his white and beige striped pyjamas, and simply fell onto his bed, a big yawn escaping his mouth.
He looked over to Wulf, who was about to close his curtains, and shot him a tired smile. “Good night, mate! See you tomorrow.”
Wulf reciprocated his smile and replied, “Yeah, goodnight, tomorrow we’ll make Hogwarts our own.” With a small laugh they both closed their curtains and Sebastian crawled under his sheets, surprised by the softness of his mattress.
What a day. He couldn’t wait for his first real day of Hogwarts to start, he really couldn’t wait… With those thoughts he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.