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After squeezing through many long, snaking lines of people (and almost getting run over several times), Meng Yao finally arrived at platform 20. Setting down his luggage that was three-quarters his height, the little eleven year-old boy carefully rummaged through his pockets, smiling when he found the ticket without any creases.
His heart leapt to his throat when the number ‘20’ swirled and rearranged itself to ‘108’. He blinked a couple of times, pinched himself, held the ticket against the light… but the platform number still remained a stubborn ‘108’.
What kind of high-speed rail service changes its platform from one end of Jiangxia* station to the other a mere half hour before departure?
Luckily, he was not the only one bamboozled by this sudden disruption. Loud voices arguing in the familiar Yunmeng dialect echoed above the din.
“What?! Yunshen* Express is at platform 108 now?” “Isn’t that all the way at the other end, Mama?” “Yes! Such things do happen, but I swear Lan-dada* did this on purpose.”
Meng Yao quickly caught up and trailed behind a motley group of two adults and three children.
“No, Aunt Cangse, you’re just a loser.” A boy around his age, decked from head to toe in purple, clapped back at the woman leading the group. As soon as the words left his mouth, another boy had him trapped in a headlock.
“Watch who you’re calling a loser, Cheng-cheng!” The purple boy twisted out of the grip and lunged at his strangely dressed friend. The other boy wore a black hoodie with a very graphic and bloody skull printed in front, coupled with outrageous red jeans.
A girl who looked a couple of years older than them quickly broke up the fight with gentle words. She, too, was covered in purple: clad in a long dress that trailed to her feet. The two boys settled with sticking their tongues and pulling their eyelids at each other.
Meng Yao watched them with a strange mix of fascination and jealousy. Hardly anyone at his non-magic school wanted to talk to him because of his mother, will he have better luck making friends with other magic children?
“And who’re you?” Resisting the urge to scream, he turned around to find the woman staring at him. With her artfully ripped dress and a choker of tiny skulls around her neck, she dressed like someone trying too hard to be a goth. How did she sneak up on him without a sound, and on platform shoes too?
“Stop scaring the poor child, Cangse. He’s probably another student,” The man suddenly appeared beside the woman. He was the only one dressed normally, though his clothes smelled strange.
“Are you taking the Yunshen Express, son?” The man asked kindly. Meng Yao nodded.
The man smiled and gestured to the children. “You’re in luck, my boy. A-Li, A-Cheng and A-Xian are all going to Yunshen. Are you a First-year?”
“Yes, sir.” Meng Yao answered evenly while scanning the man from head to toe. Other than possibly knowing how to teleport, he did not appear malicious.
“Our Xian-xian’s a First-year too!” exclaimed the woman. “You’ll be great Yunmeng buddies together!”
The three magic children took to him easily. He soon found out that Uncle Wei and Aunt Cangse are Aurors who catch ‘bad wizards’, while the Jiang siblings’ parents teach at the school, and are already there. Jiang Yanli is going to start her third year at Yunshen, while the two boys are new just like him.
They arrived at platform 108 in the nick of time. From the outside, Yunshen Express looked just like any other high-speed trains that Meng Yao saw in the news. Inside, however, was where all the magic resided. The compartment walls magically swallowed luggage and spit them out on command. A food trolley travelled by itself along the corridor, and according to Uncle Wei, will chase after you like a mad dog if you nicked something without paying.
After many tearful hugs and kisses, Wei Wuxian’s parents left the train and waved at them until the Yunshen Express disappeared from view. Meng Yao’s heart twinged when it occurred to him that, had his wizard father taken them in, Meng Shi would be waving from the platform too.
Luckily, Wei Wuxian forgot his sadness less than five minutes into their trip, and started regaling Meng Yao with tales of the magical world, punctuated with snappy retorts from Jiang Cheng. Jiang Yanli gently corrected Wei Wuxian if he got any of the facts wrong.
Meng Yao was surprised to learn that Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng are, apparently, wizarding nobility. YunmengJiang is one of the Big Four clans of M-land, but made their living by operating a popular Muggle tourist attraction called ‘Lotus Pier’, where the Jiang family resides and Wei Wuxian spends his summers.
“At least we’re better than QingheNie, they run a pig slaughterhouse for Heaven’s sake!” snapped Jiang Cheng. Meng Yao almost spat out his water.
“Please,” Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes. “Everyone is better than LanlingJin, they sell solid gold cauldrons and diamond self-cleaning chamber pots!”
“No they don’t!” Jiang Cheng yelled. “They sell perfectly normal, high quality magical goods that just happen to be plated with gold.”
“LanlingJin?” Meng Yao piped up curiously. The boys turned to look at him, obviously puzzled at how a ‘Muggle’ could know about the wizarding world. “Does a man called Jin Guangshan belong to this clan?” Before he left, Meng Shi told him the name of his father.
Jiang Cheng’s jaw dropped, while Wei Wuxian tumbled backwards into the cushioned seat. After a few seconds of tense silence, Jiang Cheng exclaimed,
“No way! Are you the ille- UMPH!” A hand clapped over his mouth. Wei Wuxian smiled at Meng Yao and said,
“Don’t bother, he’s gonna say something stupid!” Ignoring Jiang Cheng’s glare, Wei Wuxian continued, “Yes, you’re right, how do you know Jin Guangshan? Are you sure you aren’t raised as a Muggle? Anyway, he’s the patriarch of the Jin clan, and my Mom hates his guts. My Dad doesn’t like him either. Apparently it’s because he spends too much time playing ‘adult games’.”
“Wei Wuxian!” shrieked Jiang Cheng. “You can’t just go around saying -”
“- and his insufferable humongous bighead golden peacock of a son is in our year! Though he’s not on this train, thank Heavens.” remarked Wei Wuxian. “Come to think of it, Jin Zixuan’s cousin is apparently even worse… Oh Heavens above, please send me some beautiful Lans to purify my eyes…”
“Why’re you even praying?” Jiang Cheng smacked him hard on the shoulder. “You’ve been harping about Lan Wangji non-stop all summer!”
“Lan?” asked Meng Yao. “Are they also one of the Big Four clans?”
“Yes, and we’re going to their school,” replied Jiang Cheng gruffly. “GusuLan is like the most spectacular yet mysterious clan out there. Nobody knows what they do other than run Yunshen Academy…”
“My Mom says their side hustle is breeding exotic bunnies!” Wei Wuxian put his hands on his head as if they were rabbit ears.
“Well, my Mother says their secondary business may include the cultivation of rare medicinal herbs.” said Jiang Cheng importantly.
In less than an hour (Meng Yao had been so shocked he checked the clock multiple times), the train pulled to a stop at Gusu station. Wei Wuxian bounced up and down in excitement.
“Time to meet the fairest of the land!” Forcing open the window, he poked his head out and hollered, “HEYA LAN ZHAN! MISS ME?”
Just outside their window, on the platform, was a woman with three boys. The youngest promptly covered his face and hid behind the woman. Wei Wuxian roared with laughter.
But Meng Yao found himself unable to tear his gaze from the eldest of the boys. Dressed in a crisp baby blue button-down shirt and cream slacks, his long hair neatly secured with a silver pin, he emanated a calm, gentle aura, as though the dust of the mortal world could not stain him in the slightest.
“That’s Xichen-ge, he’s a Third year like Shijie,” Wei Wuxian introduced to a dumbstruck Meng Yao. “That’s his cousin Xiangshan-ge beside him, one year older than us,” He pointed at the second-youngest boy grinning and waving at them. “And Lan Zhan - oh, his courtesy name is Wangji - is in our year! He’s the prettiest!”
The woman who is presumably Lan Wangji’s mother eventually coaxed the boy out and herded all three children onto the train. Just like Uncle Wei and Aunt Cangse, she waved at them until the Yunshen Express disappeared from sight.
Seeing as they had less than an hour left in their journey, they took turns changing into school robes (the changing room appeared on command). Jiang Yanli kindly helped Meng Yao with wearing the many layers of traditional M-land clothing. She was surprised to learn that very few Muggles wore ‘period clothing’, for it is the wizarding community’s daily attire.
A crisp knock resounded through their compartment. Outside the door, Lan Wangji - already dressed primly in the plain white robes of Yunshen Academy - bowed politely and said,
“Apologies for my disturbance. Please may I have a seat here? The other compartments are full.”
“Sure,” Wei Wuxian grinned teasingly. “But what about your brother? How can he not save a seat for you?”
Lan Wangji stared straight ahead, as though he did not see Wei Wuxian. “Brother is with his friends. They are too… much.”
“You mean they pinched your cheeks too hard! Hahaha….” laughed Wei Wuxian. “I wouldn’t blame them, though, you’re just too cute…”
Meng Yao would hardly describe the Lan boy as ‘cute’. His speech and mannerisms were too proper for a child, and easily surpassed most adults in propriety. Though an enticing amount of baby fat still clung to his cheeks, his eyes had a cold, unforgiving glint sharper than glass. Even the temperature of the compartment seemed to lower by a few degrees once he settled on the empty seat by the door.
However, Wei Wuxian did not notice the change at all. Plonking on the seat beside Lan Wangji, he pulled the boy’s hair and asked,
“How’s your summer, Lan Zhan? Did you have fun? Let me guess,” He rolled his eyes playfully. “You didn’t.”
Lan Wangji glared at him, then swatted his hand away. “I familiarized myself with the rules and traditions of Yunshen.”
Wei Wuxian moaned dramatically. “But they are so BORING! The only fun thing there is the Houses! If I’m not Sorted to Gryffindor, I’ll go straight home!”
“Houses?” asked Meng Yao. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng jumped into explaining the four Houses of Yunshen: Gryffindor for the brave and the bold, Ravenclaw for the intelligent and inquisitive, Hufflepuff for the honest and hardworking, and lastly Slytherin for the ardent and ambitious. Jiang Cheng, like Wei Wuxian, set his sights on Gryffindor, which is coincidentally headed by his mother. Jiang Yanli belonged to their father’s House Hufflepuff.
“What about you, Lan Zhan? Where’re you headed too? Nah, no need to spoil,” Wei Wuxian cut Lan Wangji off before the latter could open his mouth. “We all know you’re going to Ravenclaw like your brother, uncle, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather…”
Meng Yao lost count of the number of ‘greats’ when Jiang Yanli kindly asked him which House he would like to belong in. Shrugging nonchalantly, he replied,
“I don’t really have a preference. I will go wherever the Sorting Hat sees fit.”
“That’s the spirit!” Wei Wuxian clapped heartily on his shoulder. “You seem really nice and cute, hopefully you won’t go to Slytherin where all the evil people are!”
“Yeah, Slytherins are really nasty.” agreed Jiang Cheng. “And cunning, like fox demons.”
“That is not true,” They all turned to Lan Wangji, shocked that he finally participated in their conversations. “Slytherin has produced many outstanding witches and wizards with good hearts. For example -”
“Yeah, they can’t be all bad, or they won’t be here, right?” Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were not at all interested in the supposed virtues of Slytherin. “And look!” The train screeched to a stop. “We’re here!”
Meng Yao hoped he would not end up in Slytherin. He didn’t want to lose the first friends he made in this strange new world.
***
The line of First-years in front of Meng Yao dwindled fast. Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan, his half-brother, both went to Gryffindor, while his cousin Jin Zixun went to Slytherin. Lan Wangji, like everyone expected, ended up in Ravenclaw, though Wei Wuxian wondered loudly why the Hat took so long.
“Meng Yao.” announced Professor Jiang. The nervous boy behind him, Nie Huaisang, smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
Upon hearing his name, the meal hall burst into loud gasps and murmurs, with some students even clambering on their chairs to catch a glimpse of him.
“Is that Master Jin’s bastard?” “Yes, I believe so! Have you heard, they say his mother’s a whore!” “What?! Are you sure? Who told you?” “Look at that face, he’s a fox demon, no doubt!” “That’s what you get for mixing with the blood of filthy Muggles…”
Meng Yao wanted nothing more than for a crack to appear on the ground and swallow him whole. He had not chosen his birth, and would gladly give anything for his mother to be free, but why must these rumours follow him everywhere like a vengeful ghost? And do fox demons really exist in the magical world? If yes, are they so evil they must be vanquished on sight?
A gentle but firm hand on his wrist broke his chain of thoughts. He looked up straight into the eyes of the last person he expected…
Lan Xichen, who barely noticed him when he came to collect Lan Wangji from their compartment.
“Welcome to Yunshen Buzhichu*, Young Master Meng.” Was it really Lan Xichen, or a minor deity the Heavens sent to save him?
“I am so sorry your Sorting is ruined by these hurtful rumours. Here, let me help,” Lan Xichen gently guided a dumbstruck Meng Yao to kneel beside Professor Jiang. “I shouldn’t be biased, but I will be most happy if you joined Ravenclaw like myself.”
Meng Yao prayed with every fibre of his being for Ravenclaw, but alas, the Sorting Hat had other ideas.
“Hmm, you’re mighty clever, but Ravenclaw’s not the best place for you, no.” said the Sorting Hat with authority. Meng Yao couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice,
“Then what about Gryffindor, sir?”
The Sorting Hat snorted derisively, “Is that what you think Sorting is about? Finding a playgroup?” It bounced on his head importantly, “No! My honourable task is to guide students to the House where they will receive the best mentorship and the most like-minded peers! So that they can achieve what they most desire and contribute their talents to the betterment of the wizarding world!”
Meng Yao nodded slightly in understanding. “Forgive my naivety, sir,” He shifted a little in his seat. “If it is so important, where do you think I ought to go?”
The Hat trembled in excitement. “Slytherin, of course!” It jovially bounced again. “You’re the best I’ve seen in a long time.”
As if sensing Meng Yao’s hesitation, the Hat sighed and said, “I know Slytherin has a reputation for producing Dark sorcerers, but her outstanding alumni far outpaces her bad apples. You will learn of their achievements in due time. The Head of Slytherin is currently the best Head of House, in my humble opinion. You have much to learn from him, and he will be overjoyed to teach you.”
“What about my peers?” asked Meng Yao.
“That’ll be a thorny issue, given your… unfortunate origins,” said the Hat. “But you have nothing to lose, and much to gain. You will meet friends who will help you, whether in Slytherin or other Houses, so do not trouble yourself with those who do not walk the same path, for a glorious destiny awaits you, my child.”
Meng Yao, emboldened by the Hat’s wise words, nodded lightly in assent. The Hat jumped and proclaimed with fervour,
“SLYTHERIN!”
At the staff table, Professor Gu* jumped up from his seat, fumbling for his monocle.
“Good Heavens!” He finally fixed the fancy contraption on his nose. “Did I hear that right? Am I finally getting a good one like my Chang Geng*?”
“Yes, yes, please take a seat, Zixi*,” Lan Qiren shouted into his ear. “You have gained another First-year.”
“What’s his name again?” asked Professor Gu, eyes following the thin boy now making his way to the Slytherin table.
“Meng Yao.” said Lan Qiren loudly.
“What?” Professor Gu cupped his ear. “I can’t hear you!”
“MENG! YAO!” bellowed Lan Qiren. Everyone in the meal hall turned their heads to the staff table. Professor Gu, more than used to his colleague’s frustration, merely smiled and replied just as loudly,
“Thank you, Qiren! I shall take note of him.”
Meng Yao blushed at the attention as he settled himself into a vacant seat at a far corner. To his delight, his new friend Nie Huaisang soon joined him. Slytherins old and new stared at them as if they were zoo animals, but chose not to say anything.
“They must be afraid of Professor Gu, Da-ge says angering him is a death wish,” commented Nie Huaisang. A precocious young master of QingheNie, he appeared even more knowledgeable of wizarding gossip than Wei Wuxian and the Jiang siblings. “Though they might also fear some kind of retaliation from GusuLan, since Lan Xichen showed you favour. Not like the Lans will care, they’re too proper.” He added as an afterthought.
Heat rushed to Meng Yao’s cheeks again. “I didn't do anything, I don’t even know his name until today!”
Nie Huaisang smiled genially. “I know. Xichen-ge has a tendency to collect little brothers, so I wasn’t surprised he helped you out there.”
“Are you… familiar with him?” asked Meng Yao curiously.
“Of course, I’m the first little brother he has outside his family!” chuckled Nie Huaisang. “He has a weird brotherhood thing going on with my Da-ge, and feels extremely happy when I call him ‘Er-ge’.”
Other than the pre-Sorting debacle and an ill-planned attack by Jin Zixun, Meng Yao was largely happy with his new life at Yunshen. Nie Huaisang stuck to him like glue, and clamoured pitifully to copy his homework more times than he could count. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng thankfully did not desert him even though they disliked Slytherin. The very chaotic Gryffindor student even took to calling him ‘Yao-mei’, despite the fact that Meng Yao is older by nearly eight months. Outside of classes, they did not see Lan Wangji often, for the austere boy spent most of his free time in the company of his equally magnificent brother.
Meng Yao longed to do something to thank Lan Xichen, and get to know his saviour better.
Four years later, as he descended into the darkness, Lan Xichen calling for him, memories of him tutoring Lan Xichen on Muggle Studies surfaced in his mind. Sunlight filtered through the intricately carved wooden windows of the ancient library, softening the sharp angles of Lan Xichen’s face.
He knows many things about Lan Xichen now, from his horrible grasp of ‘Muggle magic’ (also known as science) to the way he sighs with fond exasperation whenever his brother hangs out with Wei Wuxian.
But how much does Lan Xichen know about him, beyond his tragic backstory?
After all that he has done, does Lan Xichen still want to know?