Chapter Text
Before I could even process what had just happened, McGonagall pulled the Hat off me, and the crowd in the Hall snapped back into focus. All the students at the Gryffindor table jumped to their feet in a standing ovation, the Weasley twins in the distance screaming like they’d won the lottery. Percy, beside them, clapped properly with a slight smile across his face.
I slid off the stool, and the relief hit me like a freight train. I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips, half disbelief, half pure joy, as I made my way toward Harry at the Gryffindor table. Hermione and Neville grinned at me as I walked over, shifting down to make space for me to sit with them.
“We’ve got both of the Potters in our House!”
Harry, who’d been waiting with barely contained nerves, jumped from his seat, not caring about the hundreds of students around us, and ran straight at me, wrapping me up in a hug so tight it almost knocked the air out of me.
“You did it!” Harry practically shouted, pulling back to look at me, a huge grin on his face. “I knew you could do it!”
“Thanks, I’m just glad it’s over…” I said, following him to the table. I slid beside him on the bench, across from Fred and George, with Hermione to Harry’s left.
“Welcome to the club, Haley!” Fred clapped me on the back.
I grinned. “Thanks!”
“You’re officially one of us now,” George added with a wink.
We all turned our attention back to the Sorting, watching the remaining students get placed.
“Weasley, Ronald!” McGonagall called.
Fred and George craned their necks up from their seats, hoping to get the clearest view of their brother getting Sorted. Ron’s vibrant red hair vanished under the Hat as McGonagall placed it on him.
Within seconds, the Hat sighed, “Ah, another Weasley. I know just what to do with you… GRYFFINDOR!”
We all clapped as Ron stumbled over to the table and collapsed in relief beside his brothers.
“Good job, Ronniekins,” Fred smirked.
“Yeah… we were worried you would end up in Slytherin,” George teased.
“Shove it, you two,” Ron snapped.
The Sorting Ceremony swiftly continued, calling up the remaining students until all the names had been called. At last, McGonagall rolled up the scroll, picked up the stool, and set them both aside in the corner before settling at the staff table.
“Now what?” Harry whispered to the twins.
“Typically Dumbledore over there gives us the cue to eat,” Fred answered.
Without a doubt, Dumbledore stood up from his seat in the center of the staff table, a smile forming under the long waterfalls of his silver beard and half-moon spectacles.
“Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts!” he called to us all. “Now, before we eat, I wanted to share with you a few words.”
“That’s strange,” George whispered. “He usually lets us eat first and talks after.”
“Whatever it is, let’s just hope it’s quick. I’m hungry,” Ron muttered, massaging his stomach.
“Shush, you two! I’m trying to listen,” Hermione hissed from beside Harry. Ron rolled his eyes.
“First-years, please note that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden for all students to enter. Also, be mindful that our caretaker, Mr. Filch, will be confiscating any Screaming Yo-yos, Ever-Banishing Boomerangs, and Fanged Frisbees he finds in your possession. I would also like to make it clear that the third-floor corridor, on the right-hand side, is out of bounds to everyone... unless you would like to suffer a very painful death.”
I looked over at my twin in slight concern.
*A very painful death?* I thought to him. *I thought this was supposed to be a school.*
Harry shrugged. *Whelp, we’ll just stay out of its way and we’ll be fine.*
“Don’t be afraid, Haley. George and I will investigate it,” Fred said reassuringly, almost like he could read my mind.
“Thanks for preventing my death,” I joked darkly before returning my attention to Dumbledore.
“Don’t worry, sis,” Harry added. “I’ll hunt down Fred if he tries to drag you down on a third-floor adventure.”
I smirked. “Bold of you to assume I didn’t want to go down there, anyway.”
“Now, I have just four final words!” Dumbledore said brightly. “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Alright, go ahead and dig in!”
“Ah, finally!” George grinned, rubbing his hands together before grabbing his utensils.
“Food time!” Fred chimed in.
“Wait... where’s the food?” Harry asked, staring at his empty plate.
“Speak no more!” George declared dramatically.
Within a split second, the empty rows of dishes filled with food, steaming hot and delicious. Mounds of meat pies, steak, and roasted chicken appeared in front of us within the blink of an eye. Smaller plates were filled with stews, freshly roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and corn. Dozens of jugs of water, pumpkin juice, and almost any drink you could imagine filled out smaller goblets.
Harry and I looked at each other in pure joy. We had never seen so much food at once in our lives. The Dursleys never necessarily starved us, but we were almost always fed much smaller portions and frequencies than Dudley was. Now, we both had more food than he could get in a year right in front of us.
“Potatoes?” George offered my brother and I, holding the mashed potato serving bowl out towards us.
“Sure!” Harry responded, helping himself before serving me after I handed him my plate. We passed the surrounding dishes around until my plate became toppled with shepherd's pie, mashed potatoes, and other sides until I had no space left!
Ron immediately helped himself to the meat pies, scarfing down one after the other. Hermione ate delicately, gently cutting up her food in a lady-like manner. Neville helplessly took a few, sparing bites of his food, as if he was petrified to choke.
I sat quietly, too focused on eating to care about talking. I listened as Percy recalled the details of how he received his Prefect badge this summer, my classmate Seamus Finnigan mentioning how his Muggle father freaked when he discovered he was a wizard, and Neville’s terrible recount of how his great-uncle apparently awarded Trevor to him after surviving a fall out of a window. Definitely not too concerning…
Once we all devoured a handful of helpings, our plates magically cleared and were replaced with smaller dessert ones. Blocks of ice cream flavours, jello, and other pastries surrounded us. Of course, Ron continued to devour countless samples of every dessert. Harry even decided to try Treacle Tart for the first time, which, he remarked, was his favourite out of the whole lot of dishes. I tried some myself, but I didn’t find it to be very appealing. I did enjoy the Pumpkin Pasties, though!
After we finally cleared out plates and the dishes magically disappeared, the excitement I had been feeling all day began to wear off. Completely stuffed with food, my eyes began to feel heavy. Many of my classmates even began to yawn and the chatter surrounding us died down.
Dumbledore stood up again at his seat.
“Ugh, I don’t wanna hear another speech,” Ron groaned, leaning his head on his elbow across the table.
“Awww…time for Ickle Ronniekins to go to bed!” Fred laughed.
“Hush up, Fred!” Percy ordered, flashing his Prefect badge in his face.
“The more we talk, the longer we’re here, so be quiet!” Hermione ordered from across the table.
“Shut up, all of you!” Ron snapped, before realizing that Dumbledore was waiting for the Gryffindor table to settle down before speaking.
Ron flushed bright pink and muttered, “Sorry”, under his breath.
Dumbledore smiled softly before turning to face the rest of the Great Hall. “I’m glad to hear that everyone is happily fed now. Now, it’s time for you to head to bed. Prefects, please line up your first years and direct them to the dormitories. Good night!”
“Finally,” Ron sighed, heaving himself to his feet. “Come on, Harry, Haley, let’s go before Percy gets all rowdy…”
“First years! Follow me, please!” Percy called over the flooding crowd of exhausted students leaving the Great Hall. He pointed towards his badge. “Gryffindor first years, come here!”
I followed behind Harry, but before I could get too far, I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that everyone had gotten up from their seats—everyone except Neville. He sat frozen at the table, clutching Trevor tightly in his hands, looking absolutely petrified.
"Hey, Neville’s still there," I whispered to my brother, pointing back toward the table.
"Oh, is he okay? Why’s he still sitting there?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed with concern.
"Dunno. Stay with the group. I’ll go get him. You can go on without me."
"Hales, are you sure?" Harry protested. "It’s our first time here, and neither of us knows where we’re going..."
"I’m sure," I promised. "Just don’t go too far ahead, okay? I’ll be quick."
He hesitated, clearly torn. "Okay... but let me know if you need me, alright?" He tapped his head lightly, reminding me to reach out into our subconscious link if I needed him.
I nodded. "Yeah, thanks. I’ll be right back, promise."
"Be careful!" Harry called after me as I pushed my way through the crowd of older students streaming out of the Great Hall.
"Neville!" I called, hurrying back to the table. "Come on, we’re heading up to the dorms with Percy."
He didn’t move. He sat there pale and trembling, fear written all over his face.
"Neville, are you alright?" I asked gently, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.
Swallowing hard, he looked up at me. "Oh, hi, Haley..."
My smile faltered in concern. "Hey, you okay?"
"I want to go home," he whispered, tears filling his eyes. "Everything here is scary... and I don’t know anyone."
I stayed quiet for a moment, thinking carefully before pointing to the bench. "Can I sit?"
He nodded meekly, and I slid beside him.
"Neville..." I sighed, trying to find the right words. The last students were filing out of the hall, leaving it eerily quiet. "It’s okay to be nervous. We’re in a completely new environment. It’s a lot to take in."
"How would you know anything about this being new?" he asked sadly. "You’re Haley Potter. You know everything. I mean... you defeated... You-Know-Who... everyone knows you."
I couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—" Neville began quickly, but I shook my head.
"No, no, it’s not that. I’m not upset with you. It’s just... what you said is true. Well, some of it."
"W-what wouldn’t be true?" he sniffled.
"Well... it’s true that pretty much everyone here knows who Harry and I are. But..." I hesitated, then continued. "The truth is, I don’t know anyone here either. Well, besides Hagrid. I only just met Ron, his brothers, Hermione, and you on the train. Before that... Harry and I didn’t even know we were wizards until about two months ago."
His eyes widened. "W-what?! How... How could you not know? You’re the Twins-Who-Lived! You defeated him!" He pointed to the scar on my forehead.
I nodded. "Yeah, somehow we did. But here's the thing, Neville, we don’t remember it. We were just babies when it happened. I couldn’t tell you how we did it, or even what really happened."
"But... how did you not know about it for so long?" he asked, bewildered.
"Long story," I said, chuckling softly. "Our relatives, our Muggle aunt and uncle, didn’t believe in magic. They never told us anything. We only found out when we got our Hogwarts letters. Hagrid had to come find us himself... it was a bit chaotic."
Neville gawked at me, still clutching Trevor tightly.
"I know it’s a lot to take in," I said, offering him a reassuring smile. "But just know this: I’m figuring it all out for the first time too. You’re not alone here, okay?"
"I... I didn’t realize," he stammered. "I’m sorry I assumed things about you..."
I waved it off. "Nah, you’re fine. We all have our first impressions of others, right?"
He smiled a little, wiping the last of his tears away. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Now, let’s go catch up with the others, alright?" I said, standing and offering him my hand. "Or else Harry’s going to send a search squad after me!"
"Is he really that protective of you?" Neville asked as I helped him up.
"I don’t think he means to be, but yeah, he can be," I laughed as we hurried out of the Great Hall to catch up with the rest of the Gryffindors. I may not have known Neville for long, but I sensed that I could trust him.
We made it to the foot of the grand steps where the Gryffindor students remained. I peaked over the heads of the older students, trying to make out where my brother and the other first-years had gone.
“Are we lost?” Neville asked, his voice quivering in fear once we got to the top.
“No… we’re okay…” I replied, bitterly wishing that it was true.
“AHHHHHH!” he screamed, making me jump back in fright. Trevor went flying out of his hands, landing on the head of a nearby statue.
“Neville! What the…?!” I cried, reaching for my wand in my pocket for defense, which was practically useless since I didn’t know how to use it yet.
“SOMEONE THREW SOMETHING AT ME!”
“Neville… there’s no one there…”
“PEEVES, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT MESSING WITH THE NEW FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS?!”
We looked over our shoulders, and to my shock, there was a mediveal-era looking man towering over us, glaring angrily at someone behind us. He had a long mustach and a head of identical hair. What was intriguing about him was that he was transparent and floating?!
“Holy cow… he’s a ghost!” I muttered to Neville.
“PEEVES!” the ghostly man shouted. “Enough of this nonsense!”
“Come on, Nick, can’t you care for a bit of fun!”
The loud snickering echoed behind me and I felt the weight of someone’s presence dash over me. The figure took ahold of my hair, dragging me by my feet away from Neville.
“OW! Let me go!” I kicked and tried to wiggle out of their grasp, but this figure was stronger than Dudley, so I couldn’t free myself. I was being yanked down the long corridor by nothing but the braid my hair had been tied up into that day.
“Miss Ginger and I are going to go have some fun!!” he declared.
“HALEY!”
“PEEVES! LET HER GO BEFORE I CALL FOR THE BLOODY BARON!”
Peeves halted and turned back over towards Nick and Neville. Through the haze, I could make out a bit of his physique. He was a short, gawky man wearing the most ridiculous-looking outfit that I’d imagine a clown would wear at the circus. I could make out his large, bright orange hat and matching bowtie.
I stumbled forward as he released my hair, straightening up as I brushed off my robes beside Neville. Nick had floated over between Peeves and us.
“You okay?” Neville asked, sniffling. He had been bawling his eyes out during this whole encounter.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Peeves! That was unacceptable! You know better than to mess with first-years!” Nick scolded.
Peeves blew a raspberry in protest. “Lighten up, Nick!” He looked over at me. “And you, lady, sleep with one eye open tonight! You never know who’s watching!”
Nick shook his head in disapproval and watched as Peeves skipped down the corridor and out of sight, laughing wickedly loud through the chamber.
“My upmost apologies about him!” Nick said, rejoining us. “That’s Peeves you, unfortunately, just met. He’s the school’s poltergist – always hunting out for fresh meat from the first-years. Watch out for him.”
“Thanks for saving my neck back there!” I said.
He grimaced at the word “neck.” “No trouble, my dear. Wish I could’ve saved my own neck… well, I still have a centimeter of it left!” He tugged at the side of his head, and to Neville’s horror, Nick’s head nearly fully decaptitated from his body, holding on by a literal thread of skin.
“Oh… wow. Was it painful?”
“Eh, an axe to the neck 45 times can only be painful enough. I’m Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service. Many disappointing individuals around here just call me Nearly Headless Nick, but I’d prefer if you’d call me Sir Nicholas.”
I didn’t know how to keep a straight face with someone telling me that they had been hit in the neck by an axe like it was an everyday fact. “Uh… that’s got to hurt, Sir Nicholas. Uhm… Neville and I here got separated from our group. Do you know where Gryffindor tower is?”
“Why of course! I was a proud Gryffindor back in my day. Follow me, I can lead you back there.”
“Thanks!”
Nick guided down the corridor. We passed the statue where Trevor had landed on during the commotion. I leaned over and scooped him up into my hands and tried to give him back to Neville, who was emotionally wrecked from the whole ordeal.
“You hold him, Haley. I can’t be trusted!” Neville exclaimed as we headed up the stairs.
“Fine, just till we get up into the tower, okay?” I sighed.
The halls were quieting down for the night, leaving only the presence of the passing portraits to comment on our passage. Nick led us up another few flights of stairs when one of them suddenly rotated away from the direction we were supposed to go!
“Forgot to mention, keep an eye on the stairs, they move. Fine man, what is your name?” Nick asked as the stairs finally settled. I could make out the heads of my classmates on the landing, guided by a stern Percy Weasley ordering them to keep quiet.
“N-Neville, sir. Neville Longbottom.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Neville! And you are…?”
I smiled. “I’m Haley Potter.”
Nick did a double-take. “It was an honor to meet you, Miss Potter. I expect that your brother, Harry, is also joining us at Hogwarts this year?”
“Yeah, he’s back there with Ron Weasley.” I pointed towards the group.
“Another Weasley?! Why, they just keep on adding up. Well, Miss Potter, this is where we shall depart. Better get along now, before you get locked out of your common room with Mr. Longbottom!”
“Thanks for your help. See you, Sir Nick!”
Nick did a little bow before floating off down the corridor from where we had just came from. Shoving Trevor the Toad back into Neville’s hand, I slipped back into the crowd to find my brother.
“Hey,” I whispered. Harry was standing towards the front of the crowd. We were parked behind the back of Percy’s head as he spoke quietly with a portrait of a very plump woman.
“Took you long enough. Percy’s about to show us how to get into the common room. Apparently we need to say a password to the Fat Lady up there. That’s what she’s called,” he explained.
“What happened to you and Neville, Haley?” asked Ron.
“Long story.”
“Quiet, everyone!” Percy hushed over the already-silent crowd. A few students groaned behind us in annoyance.
“This is the entrance to Gryffindor tower. In order to gain access, you will need to remember a password to tell the Fat Lady here.” He turned back towards the Fat Lady. “Caput Draconis!”
“Move along…” the Fat Lady sighed, as if she had nothing better to do than to gatekeep a bunch of students 24/7. Her portrait swung aside, allowing us to enter.
We herded ourselves in slowly, one after another. Ron jumped the large step, and Harry and I gave Neville a leg up.
I could not prepare myself enough for what I saw upon arrival. The Gryffindor common room was HUGE. We were at large, circular top of Gryffindor tower. The common room was complete with elaborate, velvety chairs and sofas surrounding the large hearth of the active fireplace. The walls were covered in historical coats of arms and red wall paper. Tables and chairs were spread throughout the long room where students could study or socialize in their spare time.
“Whoa…” I said. “This is was worth the long train ride.”
Percy took front and center behind the fireplace. “Welcome to Gryffindor common room. In here, this will become your new home away from home. I would like to remind you that our House is graded on behaviour through a points system. As McGonagal likely mentioned, every year, the House awarded with the most points will win the House Cup. We haven’t won it in nearly seven years. I expect each of you to be on your best behaviour so we can win.
“Boy’s dormitories are up along the left staircase. Girls, the same on your right. You will be assigned roommates to share your dormitory with. Remember to be civil and to come to me if there are any unresolved issues. Classes begin tomorrow at nine. Breakfast will be served beforehand. Rest up, you all have a very big day tomorrow. Any questions?... Alright, good night, everyone.”
Percy retreated to his dormitory, leaving us to disperse and socialize.
“Each House has their own common room, isn’t that nice? Slytherin’s are in the dungeon…” Nearby, Hermione Granger was reciting to Lavendar Brown about the traditions of the Houses. They gathered at the foot of the stairwell and began to make their way up to the dorms.
“Mental that one, I’m telling you.” Ron clearly despised her. Harry just shrugged quietly as he held back a yawn. The weight of the day was finally catching up to us.
“I think I’m going to go up for the night,” I said quietly. I looked from Ron to Harry. “You two good?”
Harry nodded awkwardly. “Yeah. Night, Hales.” He seemed hesitant, like he was debating whether or not he should say more. Perhaps we both hadn’t realized it yet, but this was the first time that we would be in our own social groups and make our own friends. A part of me was happy to get to develop my own identity, but how easily could I do that if my individuality has always, in some way, been linked back to Harry?
“Night, guys.”
And with that, I went along my merry way up the stairs, following Lavendar and Hermione.