Chapter Text
September 1st saw children flood into King’s Cross, pushing carts and yelling to one another. They were going to Hogwarts, of course. Most of the families were smiling with joy for their children. Once they were through the gate of 9¾, they were surrounded by hundreds of Wizarding families.
Brian May ignored his mother, who was trying not to cry, for a moment in favor of a new arrival. The boy had dark hair hanging around his face and a little sister hopping around him. In contrast, their parents walked behind them stoically. Brian watched him pull a calico cat out of a cage and cuddle it to his chest. The little girl tugged at his sleeves and the cat. She didn’t seem to want to let her brother leave.
A boy with lanky blond hair shoved past him. His parents, clearly muggles, looked around in awe. The mother was concentrating on a conversation with another woman, probably also a muggle.
“Alright, Brian. Train’s leaving soon.”
Brian’s mother hugged him until he twisted away, grabbed his cart, and shouted a goodbye to his parents as he ran. His owl hooted angrily at the disturbance. The noise was drowned out by the cacophony of meowing cats and hooting owls combined with the children’s shouts. The dark-haired boy dashed ahead of him and onto the train, cat in his arms.
Students had packed into every compartment already. On his way to search for an empty one, Brian ran into a boy with short curls carrying a tawny owl.
“Hey, having trouble finding a compartment too?” the boy asked, grinning. He stuck his hand out. “John Deacon, and you are…?”
Brian smiled. “Yeah, I am. I’m Brian May. Want to help me find a seat?”
John grinned and set off down the train. They journeyed together to the very last compartment. There was only one person inside, the dark-haired boy from the platform. He barely looked up when they opened the door and said nothing when Brian said hello.
“Mind if we sit here?”
The boy shrugged. “Sure. I don’t care,” he muttered. His voice had an accent that Brian couldn’t recognise, something foreign. John settled his owl on the floor beside Brian’s. The boy’s cat looked at them and turned back to her owner.
John sat down. “What’s the cat’s name? Maybe she won’t fight the owls if they’re friends, I think.”
“Her name’s Delilah,” came the response. Upon hearing her name, she looked up again and meowed softly at the others. John nodded.
“What’s your name then? We’re all stuck in here for a few hours anyways,” Brian asked. The boy stared out the window.
“Freddie.”
John smiled. “Hello, Freddie. I’m John, and this is Brian.”
The compartment was relatively silent until the door was slammed open. The blond boy from the platform stood in the doorway. His owl hooted angrily at its owner.
“Oi. Can I sit in here? I got kicked out of the other compartment,” the boy rambled. Brian shrugged and John waved him in. “Thanks. Roger Taylor, by the way.”
When the cart of candies and chocolates came through, Freddie jumped up and bought a huge pile. The kind-looking witch smiled warmly at the excited boys. Roger stared at it, scrunching his eyebrows up at the odd candies. John’s jaw fell to the floor at the mountain of sweets. Brian bought a few handfuls of his favorite candies. John and Roger watched it leave without buying anything and watching the other boys carry their piles back to their seats. Freddie began separating his candy into piles, Roger occasionally picking one up and looking at them.
“These are so fucking weird. No Mars Bars?” he said, inspecting a Cauldron Cake. Brian unwrapped a chocolate frog and laughed when it hopped onto Roger.
“Course not,” Brian said, grinning. “This is wizard candy. Haven’t you had any before?”
Roger flicked the frog off. “No. My parents are both muggles. We don’t have… moving chocolate,” he muttered. John tossed him a cake.
“My mom’s a muggle too. She loves all this stuff when my dad brings them home.”
“What about you two?” Roger turned to Brian and Freddie who had begun comparing chocolate frog cards.
Freddie shrugged. “Pureblood. This stuff’s old news.” Brian nodded and unwrapped another frog.
“Me too. I grew up with this crap. Oh, look! I got a Dumbledore card!”
Roger sat forward, spinning a card between his fingers. “What’s that mean? Pureblood? The explanation I got was shit.”
“There’s muggleborns, like you, who have muggle parents but still have magic. John’s a halfblood, one muggle parent and one magic, or at least a muggle ancestor I think. Purebloods, like Freddie and I, have wizards in our families going back forever ,” Brian explained, gesturing to each of them in turn.
An older student poked their head in a few minutes later to tell them to change. Delilah dragged Freddie’s robes to him. The other three had to dig through their trunks to find theirs. The commotion grew outside their door and a town appeared in the darkness.
Brian raced to the window. “Hogsmeade,” he whispered. Roger shoved him aside to watch the town appear out of the mist. John joined him and Freddie glanced up. The train slowed to a stop at the station and doors slammed open.
Their group stepped out, Delilah tucked snugly in Freddie’s robes, and were swept up by the hoard of other first years. A large man stood at the end, calling for the first years. The pack headed to the edge of a lake where boats waited.
Brian hopped into one and held Delilah while Freddie climbed in. Roger and John followed him, sitting in the back. The boats began moving the second the final student stepped in. Roger’s mouth dropped open in surprise and Brian leaned forwards.
“Wow,” Freddie breathed. The castle appeared around the corner, its windows glowing with light. The students around them echoed Freddie. Some had to be pulled back by their friends when they leaned too far forwards. Roger laughed at them.
A stern-looking woman stood at the base of the castle. Her hair was pulled back into a sharp bun and she seemed to inspect every student who came ashore.
“Thank you, Hagrid,” she said to the man who’d brought them across, “Go on to the feast. We’ll be there in a moment.”
The man nodded. “A’right, Headmistress. See you kiddos later.”
“I am Headmistress McGonagall. Please form a straight line. In a few minutes, we will enter the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your House. You will walk forwards when I call your name to be sorted,” she ordered. The students rushed to line up in the rather small area. Freddie stood in front of Brian, John behind him, and Roger at the back.
The headmistress pushed open the doors and walked inside, followed by the snaking line of students. They walked through the dark halls until they reached a large set of doors. Unlike the other ones, these doors opened magically to let them through.
Freddie first saw the floating candles above the ground and then the mass of students underneath. Each House turned to watch the first years as if looking to see which ones they wanted.
“Maybe we’ll all be in the same house,” John whispered. Brian nodded eagerly. Roger shrugged.
The hall fell silent when a short teacher placed a stool in front of McGonagall. A ragged hat sat upon it. Freddie stared when he noticed the face it had.
She pulled a parchment scroll out of her pocket and unrolled it. The first student was called forwards. They stumbled up to the hat, running off the second it yelled out Ravenclaw! ’
McGonagall cleared her throat, seeming to inspect the next name. “Farrokh Bulsara?” she called out. Brian watched as Freddie froze. His first step forward was almost a stumble until he strutted up to the hat.
“It’s Freddie Mercury, actually.” His voice rang out in the hall, students turning to watch. This new side of Freddie surprised even John, a change from the quiet boy on the train.
Someone behind them snorted. “If you’re going to make up a name at least make sure it isn’t ridiculous,” they sneered. Brian turned, ready to shout something back. A boy behind him spoke first.
“Shut up, Foster,” he retorted. “Like you can talk.” Foster frowned.
“Fuck off, Hutton,” he hissed. Hagrid stepped between them and pulled Foster away before he could land a punch. McGonagall turned back to Freddie.
“Well then, Mr. Mercury, step forwards.”
He sat on the stool and grinned at Brian, a wide smile that showcased a large set of teeth. McGonagall picked up the Sorting Hat and stood behind him with it.
The second the Hat touched the very top of his head it shouted, “Gryffindor!”
Freddie grinned again as his new House cheered. He was greeted with pats on the back when he sat at the end of the table.
Brian was greeted with some smiles when the hat called out ‘Ravenclaw.’ Roger trudged to the Slytherin table, and John smiled on his way to the Hufflepuff table. Roger scowled at Foster when he joined the same House. The boy who had defended Freddie, Jim, stumbled while walking to the Hufflepuff table after a warm smile from the Gryffindor. Roger laughed somewhat good-naturedly.
McGonagall stood up at the high table. “Settle down now. Your Houses will be where you sleep and who you will go to class with. Unless ordered to, you are free to sit at any table you want. Making friends with those in other Houses is recommended. Now, eat.”
Roger’s eyes nearly exploded out of his head when dozens of plates of food appeared on the tables. Brian heard Freddie cheer and saw John’s mouth fall open.
It looked like it was going to be a good year.