Work Text
"Jonah, wake up!”
Jay, a seemingly young boy with short caramel hair and green eyes, burst into his older brother’s room. The sudden shout reverberated throughout the entire home. Jay didn’t bother shutting the bedroom door as he raced like a speeding bullet onto Jonah’s twin-size bed. He ripped off the covers and proceeded to yell at the sleeping boy to get up as Jay was jumping on top of him.
Jonah Beck woke up to a horrible pain aching in his lower back. He opened one of his eyes slightly and looked over at his overly excited brother sleepily. “Jay..” He whined, pulling the blankets over his head. “Leave me alone.”
The younger brother halted his racket and raised an eyebrow, confused. “Did you seriously forget what today is?” He stared oddly at Jonah like he had grown two heads.
Jonah’s exhausted body tried to think of an answer but his mind drew a blank. After a few lingering seconds the boy’s eyes shot wide open, immediately shifting his body to look at the pre-packed suitcase leaning against his closet door.
Before he could react, the two boys’ mother called from downstairs. “Jonah? Sweetie, are you getting ready yet?” She asked. “We have to leave for Diagon Alley soon, remember?
We’re going to buy the rest of your school supplies since your first year at Hogwarts starts tomorrow.”
Jonah quickly understood and hopped out of his comfortable bed that he would definitely miss sleeping in. But his brother waking him up at the crack of dawn every morning, however, was a different story.
Like his older brother, Jay sprang off the bed mattress but instead hurried down the creaky stairway to help his parents. They were preparing for the trip to Diagon Alley, an area they usually never visited because of how expensive everything there was. Jonah’s family only had so much money nowadays, so they always had to spend it wisely. But Jonah was grateful for all that he had, especially considering he was going to attend Hogwarts, the legendary school of witchcraft and wizardry. The school where the famous Harry Potter had previously attended.
Jonah strolled over to the outfit he had picked out for himself the night before, looking it over. He had picked out a white collared shirt with a dark tie, along with a grey robe. Jonah threw on his outfit quickly, just in time to hear another call from downstairs.
“Jonah, hon, are you ready to leave?” His mother’s voice echoed through the wooden house.
“Yes, Mom!”
He called back.
The green-eyed boy exited his room and met his parents and younger brother downstairs by the chimney. They were planning on arriving at Diagon Alley by floo powder, which was held in a small wooden vase. Each of the family members spoke clearly when it was their turn, and threw the powder downward which dissolved into fiery flames, transporting them to the outside world.
Before the Beck family knew it, they were crowded by other witches and wizards hustling around in every direction. The cobblestone street was packed with people and creatures of every kind running in and out of stores. Toddlers crying for candy, kids staring in awe at new arrivals of broomsticks, adult witches and wizards hurrying to keep up with their unpredictable children, you name it. Jonah thought the sight in front of him was exquisite, a memory he knew he would never forget.
Jonah’s parents soon found a shop that suited their needs, and told their son to stay nearby and not run off. Jonah was relieved that his parents were easy-going and trusted him with being responsible. He then gladly obeyed, turning to walk towards some stores near him.
“Make sure you get all the items on your list!” They called after him. “Don’t forget anything!”
The boy rolled his eyes playfully at them, waving his parents goodbye. After he could no longer see their figures in the early morning sun, he turned his head forwards so he faced the crowds in front of him.
Jonah peered down at the piece of parchment he was holding. Written upon it were all the items he needed for his first year at Hogwarts. But before he could read the first item on the list, something else caught his eye, withdrawing his attention from the thin paper. A small crowd had formed around the display case of the Quidditch Supplies store. Jonah couldn’t even make out what they were staring at.
The curious green-eyed boy waltzed over to the crowd of people. He stood on his tiptoes attempting to glance over them, but he was blocked by a tall curly-haired girl in front of him. Jonah, who didn’t give it any second thought, tapped the girl’s shoulder to get her attention.
The girl spun around, her curly hair hitting the sides of her face. Jonah observed her bold features and started to regret his impulsive decision. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for the nervous brown-haired boy in front of her to speak.
“Um..” He began, anxiously twiddling his thumbs. “I was wondering if you could move just a bit so I could see what everyone’s staring at.”
The girl’s confused expression turned into a smirk. “Eh, it ain’t much.” She laughed, while sliding over. “I already own one of these.” The girl grinned brightly, gesturing to the broom in the display case.
Jonah’s eyes widened, starstruck. In the display window, there was a neatly placed Nimbus 3001 broomstick. Jonah had never seen one in person.
He swiftly turned to face the girl. “You already own one?!” Jonah was shocked, he figured that this girl must be rich, the Nimbus 3001 model had just recently been released.
“Yeah, it was a gift from my parents.” The girl laughed harder. “You’ve never seen one before?” Her eyebrows were raised.
“No, not at all,” his voice became small and hesitant.
“Well, I can surely let you ride my broom when we get to Hogwarts.” The girl smirked once more.
“Wait, how- how did you-“ Jonah stuttered in confusion. “How did you know that I’m going to Hogwarts?” He arched a brow.
The girl grinned sheepishly and pointed at the long list he was carrying. Jonah looked down and blushed with embarrassment.
“Anyway, I’m Buffy.” The curly-haired girl introduced herself, holding out a hand.
With Jonah’s free hand, he returned the friendly gesture. “I’m Jonah.” His lips formed a warm smile.
“Maybe I’ll see you at Hogwarts, J.” Buffy waved, while making her way back to her mother outside of a different store.
Jonah waved back, and glanced down at his list again. Time was ticking, and he had to buy everything that was on it, with the limited money he had.
He read the first item on the list aloud. “Every witch or wizard attending Hogwarts must come accompanied with either a frog, owl, or rat.” Jonah chuckled to himself. “Definitely an owl.”
The green-eyed boy then proceeded to scan the long line of stores along the sides of the cobblestone street, to which his eyes ceased upon an outlet labeled ‘Eeylops Owl Emporium’.
Jonah carefully slipped the parchment into the pocket of his robes and passed by other young witches and wizards on his way to the owl emporium. But as he drew closer, Jonah saw a group of older wizards who were blocking the entrance to the store. Their appearance sent shivers down Jonah’s spine. The wizards seemed to be very tall, each of them wearing dark robes with silver hemming along the edges, and had irritated expressions plastered on their pale faces. Jonah visibly gulped. He tried his best to kindly ask the boys to move before having to shove himself in between them to get to the door handle. He forcefully grasped it, and hauled himself indoors.
Why is everything so much harder than it needs to be Jonah thought, once he was finally inside the small shop. The boy exhaled a shaky breath, letting his fear wash away. The space around him became clear after a few prolonged moments.
While Jonah was recollecting himself, he hadn’t noticed a few worried costumers glancing his way, nor the girl with a short pixie cut walking up to him. She was wearing trendy and stylish robes with pink lining, as well as a crafted headband with pink flowers to go along with it. Next to the girl was a grey and white feathered owl perched inside a cage, watching him closely with its large yellow eyes. The girl slowly took a step towards him. Jonah blinked curiously at her cautious manner.
“Hey there, are you alright?” The girl asked. “It seemed like you nearly pushed yourself through the door.” She smiled whole-heartedly.
Jonah froze, his lips parted while he searched for an answer. “Oh,” he chuckled anxiously, shifting his body. “I just really wanted to uh- get inside.” He lied. What am I doing?
The girl cocked an eyebrow, not convinced by his statement. “Whatever you say,” she giggled, swaying her feet. “I’m Andi.”
The green-eyed boy gave a slight wave. “I’m Jonah.” He pointed to the owl perched beside her. “Is that owl yours?”
Andi placed her hand on the owl’s cage. “Oh, him?” She grinned. “Yeah, I just bought him earlier.” Andi lifted the cage, now holding it to her side. “You planning on buying one too?”
“Yes, I am actually,” the boy chuckled softly. “Plus they’re much more intelligent than a toad or a rat,” Jonah added.
“True,” Andi glanced at her newly-bought owl. “I’ll help you pick out yours if you want.”
Jonah raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Thank you!” Any trace of Jonah’s anxiety from when he had first arrived to the store had completely vanished.
The two of them searched around the store for an owl for Jonah, and didn’t have any luck until the boy laid his eyes upon a slightly smaller owl perched in a low cage. The owls feathers were a snowy shade of white and had dark grey spots scattered across its backside, a very unique design that captured Jonah’s attention. He turned his head to alert Andi of his new discovery.
“Hey, Andi!” The short brown-haired girl shifted her head. “Look at this owl I found!”
Andi grinned gleefully at him. “You should definitely buy him.” Jonah agreed without any hesitation, pulling out the money his parents had lent him and proceeded to bring the owl cage up to the counter.
•
•
•
After a couple of long hours, Jonah managed to purchase nearly every item on his list, so his arms were filled with too many bags to carry. He decided to meet up with his parents and younger brother again to have lunch together. They sat down to eat at The Leaky Cauldron, which wasn’t too far away. Once they started their meal, not even a few moments went by before Jonah glanced down at his supply list to see what was left. He had gotten almost everything he needed, all except the last item. It was a wand, so Jonah figured he would find one from the well-known wand shop, Ollivanders.
Once the green-eyed boy finished his lunch, he waved goodbye to his family once more before strolling down to Ollivanders to buy a wand for himself. Jonah nearly tripped over his own two feet while entering into the store.
“Are you alright there, dear boy?” An elderly man with strands of grey hair suddenly appeared behind the counter. He looked at Jonah with a concerned expression on his wrinkly face.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Jonah dusted himself off. “I was just wondering if I could buy a wand.” He glanced from the man to the rest of the shop, examining the many wands on display. They were stacked on top of each other, in many rows that almost reached the ceiling. The boy’s green eyes shifted from the hundreds of wands to the only other customer in Ollivanders, a dark-haired boy whose back was turned away from him so his face was hidden. Jonah bit his lip and glanced back at the man.
Said man stood up, grinning widely at Jonah, his crooked teeth on display. “Would this be your first wand, perhaps?” He asked curiously.
Jonah nodded at him. “Yes, it is.”
“And what might your name be, my dear boy?”
“Jonah, sir. Jonah Beck.” The green-eyed boy closer to the counter.
The man beamed and pulled out a small slender rod from behind him. “Well, mister Jonah Beck, here.” He handed the wand to him. “Try this one, it’s a 9 inch hawthorn with dragon heartstring.”
Jonah held it tightly, the wand feeling oddly heavy in his grasp. He looked up at the older man, who was staring eagerly at him.
“Well what are you waiting for?” A laugh escaped from the man’s lips. “Give it a wave!”
He gestured a swinging motion with his hand.
Jonah quickly obeyed, giving the stick in his hand a quick flick. Before he knew it, a blast of light erupted out of the wand, striking a small case of wand boxes behind the store owner who had thankfully ducked out of the way. Jonah gasped, and immediately set down the wand, blushing with embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry sir.” Jonah apologized frantically.
The elderly man slowly got up from behind the counter, chuckling. Jonah raised an eyebrow at his laughter.
”Jonah, my dear boy, this happens almost every time a witch or wizard gets their wand,” he assured. “Now, I want you to try this one.” The man extended a hand to reveal another wand. “It is an 11 inch birchwood with unicorn hair core.”
This time, Jonah carefully took the wooden rod from his hand, cautiously swinging it. However, he had not noticed that the other customer in the store, the dark-haired boy, had started to watch.
A few sparks were released from the wand, then a puff of smoke, which covered Jonah’s entire face in ashes. He sneezed softly, the dust tickling his nose. As if Jonah wasn’t already humiliated enough, he heard the other boy in the store giggling at him, and it did not seem like his laughter was going to end anytime soon.
The dark-haired boy’s giggles only halted when he and Jonah made eye contact. The dark brown-haired boy observed Jonah’s features and smirked. Underneath the black ashes all over his face, a redness tinted Jonah’s cheeks.
“Hey,” the dark-haired boy has begun to waltz towards him. “It’s not as bad as it looks.” He smiled at Jonah. “Trust me I just got my own wand earlier and I nearly broke another customers leg.”
Jonah’s body visibly relaxed. He gazed lovingly at the boy in front of him. “Thanks.”
The shop owner behind the table cleared his throat, making the two boys break apart their eye contact and look away from the other. The elderly glanced at the boys and rolled his eyes grinning. He pulled out another wand from a thin box beside him, and gave it to Jonah.
“I think this might be the wand for you, my boy.” He nodded at Jonah. “It’s a 10 inch hazel with dragon heartstring.”
With the wand in Jonah’s grasp, he felt lighter than he did before. An electric feeling was racing throughout his body. The green-eyed boy felt like a spotlight was shining upon him, as if a gust of wind had brushed through the strands of his hair.
“This is the one.” Jonah exclaimed, excitedly throwing his hands in the air.
The dark-haired boy laughed. “Awe, lucky, wish I could’ve gotten my wand that fast.” He gave the shop owner a knowing look.
Jonah turned back to face the boy, a huge grin still apparent on his face. “Really? Well-” Jonah began to speak, right before his face scrunched up like a knot and he let out a sneeze. The ashes from his face twinkled in the air like pixie dust. The dark-haired boy held back a laugh.
Jonah frowned at his stupidity. “I forgot that junk was still on my face.” He groaned in annoyance.
“Here,” the dark-haired boy grabbed a handkerchief from the counter, lightly wiping the black ashes from other boy’s cheek. “Let me help.” Jonah used every ounce in his body to not freak out.
When the dark brown-haired boy finished cleaning up Jonah’s face, he threw the handkerchief in the trash. The boy gazed at Jonah dreamily, admiring his outstanding green eyes.
“Uh,” Jonah awkwardly shuffled his feet. “Thank you for helping to get that stuff off of me.” He looked into the other boy’s big brown eyes.
“Oh!” The dark-haired boy snapped out of his daze. “I haven’t even introduced myself,” He chuckled. “I’m Cyrus, your local weirdo.”
Jonah shook his head, playfully batting his eyes. “I doubt that. And I’m Jonah, I’m going to be a new student at Hogwarts tomorrow.” He proudly placed his hands on his hips.
“I figured.” Cyrus replied. “I’m going to be a new student tomorrow too.”
Jonah’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?!” He exclaimed. “I mean-” he halted his excitement. “Really?”
Cyrus giggled sheepishly. "You're cute."
He walked towards the door, leaving Jonah stunned. The green-eyed boy's mouth was hanging wide open and his legs were frozen in place. Jonah hadn't even noticed his wand slip from his fingers onto the wooden floor.
While rotating the door handle, Cyrus turned to look back at Jonah. "I hope to see you at Hogwarts tomorrow, Jonah." His voice was soft and genuine.
"B-bye." Jonah stuttered, staring hazily at the door, even after Cyrus had left the store.
Jonah was now beyond excited to arrive at Hogwarts the following morning. His new life was about to begin.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
First item, check. Second, double check. Third, triple check...
Jonah scanned his finger down the parchment in his hand for what felt like the thousandth time. He had barely slept the night prior, Jonah was much too excited to sleep. The brown-haired boy was seated on his bedroom floor near his window, impatiently waiting for the sun to appear in the horizon.
Jonah yawned and stretched out his legs in front of him. He glanced down at the green-spotted pajamas he was wearing, smiling silently to himself.
In just a few hours, he would be catching a ride on the Hogwarts Express. No matter how many times he repeated those exact words in his head, Jonah could still hardly believe it. Hopefully everything would go according to how he planned.
He was soon going to the school of his dreams, Jonah would finally find his place in the Wizarding World. Ever since he was a young boy, he had been counting the days up until he would enter the grounds of Hogwarts. And now, it was finally here.
The brown-haired boy hugged his sides in excitement and peered over at his sleek wand resting on his bed, remembering the embarrassing events that lead up to attaining it. Jonah blushed at the memory of the attractive dark-haired boy,
Cyrus
, and how he had utterly embarrassed himself right in front of him. Yet, even though things hadn’t been too smooth at first, he hoped he could see him again.
Before Jonah knew it, his thoughts were slowly slipping away into the depths of his mind, his head gradually propping up against the wall of his bedroom as he fell into a deep slumber. •••
A couple hours later when the sun was rising up in the sky, Jay, the human alarm clock, was hurrying from the bathroom to wake up his brother. He teared open the door and sped straight up to Jonah, shaking him from side to side. He was causing such a ruckus that their parents could hear from down the stairs.
“Get up sleepyhead! Wake up! Today’s the big day!” He proceeded to yell at Jonah, who had not stirred.
“You’re going to be late!”
With those last words, Jonah’s green eyes shot wide open, leaping to his feet while almost knocking his younger brother off the bed.
“
Ack
! Sorry Jay!” Jonah apologized repeatedly at his annoyed brother who now sat at the edge of his bed. “But I need to get ready.”
And with that, Jonah pushed his brother out of the room and locked the door, quickly turning his attention to the completed Hogwarts supply list sitting lopsided on the floor. He snatched it immediately, along with his wand, the textbooks he had bought for school, his suitcase, and his owl’s cage. Jonah heaved, his arms struggling to carry everything, and trudged to the door. Only then did he catch a look of himself in his mirror whilst exiting his room.
“Shit.” Jonah cursed under his breath. He looked himself over in the mirror.
Low and behold, he was still wearing his green-spotted pajamas. Jonah mentally slapped himself in the face as he casted aside all of his items back onto the ground.
Jonah raced to open his closet and grabbed the nearest outfit he could find, seeing as he was already off-schedule. He threw on some black robes with a white shirt underneath, along with a loosely fastened green tie around the collar.
The green-eyed boy scrambled back to his things and pulled the door shut. He hurried down the creaky stairs, his suitcase thumping loudly on the wood.
When he arrived at the bottom of the staircase, Jonah inhaled deeply trying to calm his beating heart. He momentarily dropped his things onto the floor so he could properly greet his parents who were staring at him with raised eyebrows.
“Jonah, sweetie?” His mother asked, standing up from her chair. “I heard quite a bit of banging coming from your bedroom. Are you prepared to leave?” She gestured towards the door.
Jonah let out out a small chuckle. “Yeah. I’m ready to go now.” He grinned happily.
•••
Similar to the Beck family’s trip to Diagon Alley the day prior, they were again swarmed by other witches and wizards along with the addition of many muggles as well. In the midst of chaos, Jonah pushed his heavy cart of items through the herd of people while he gazed down at his train ticket, hardly able to keep his eyes off its golden writing. He searched the signs above for platforms nine and ten, knowing well that the portal to platform nine and three quarters was hidden in between them.
Walking closely behind Jonah was his proud parents and brother who were beyond excited (and nervous) for him to move on to the next milestone in his life. His mother and father held back happy tears as they walked alongside each other.
Unfortunately, during a few moments where Jonah had accidentally been keeping his eyes on his train ticket for longer than he should have, he bumped right into a stranger in front of him, sending a few of his textbooks flying out of his cart and crashing onto the ground.
Jonah jolted his head up immediately. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” He held his hands up apologetically. “I didn’t mean to-“ Jonah made eye contact with the stranger, and his good communication skills quickly vanished into thin air.
“Well, I didn’t expect to be seeing you again so soon Jonah,” remarked Cyrus, the attractive dark-haired boy from Ollivanders, with a big smile gleaming on his face.
Jonah’s mind eventually registered that the boy was speaking to him. He blinked away his initial shock and returned a grin. “What a weird coincidence,” Jonah replied softly as he reached down to pick up his textbooks off the ground.
“Is that your family over there?” Cyrus pointed to Jonah’s parents and brother who were standing a few feet back. They had been watching the two boys carefully, sharing knowing looks among the three of them. Cyrus waved at them kindly.
Jonah nodded hesitantly. “Sadly, yeah.” He let out a sigh. “Anyway, I was just heading over to the train platform before I crashed into you.”
Cyrus giggled at him. “Did you want to join me then?” He held out hand to Jonah. “I know a shortcut. You don’t need to go the long way. I can navigate through the crowd pretty well.”
Jonah looked at Cyrus’ extended hand then back up to his face. Jonah could see a ray of sunshine shining brightly on Cyrus’ face, all of his features standing out more clearly. It seemed as if the wind was blowing through Cyrus’ thick strands of dark hair, making the whole experience feel like a dream. Every aspect of it seemed like the universe was telling him to say yes. Jonah beamed and willingly grasped his friend’s hand. Cyrus’ fingers laced around Jonah’s palm, the warm feeling bringing heat to his cheeks.
Jonah broke the silence. “You promise you won’t take me to the wrong platform? I don’t want to smash my head into a brick wall.” Jonah explained, sweat beads forming on his forehead.
“Of course I won’t. Why would I do that?” Cyrus laughed. “Wouldn’t want to hurt that pretty face of yours.” The dark-haired boy winked.
Jonah’s cheeks flushed darker. “Yeah uh,” Jonah gulped, brushing off Cyrus’ flirtatious comment. “I’m gonna go say goodbye to my parents, it’ll only take a sec.” He awkwardly removed his sweaty hand from Cyrus’ as he walked back to his family.
Jay raised an eyebrow mischievously. “
Soo,
was that the boy who called you cute yesterday?”
Jonah immediately clamped a hand over the young boy’s mouth. “
Hush!
Not so loud! He might hear you.” Jonah couldn’t bear to embarrass himself in front of Cyrus even more than he already had.
Jay grabbed his brothers wrist and pried Jonah’s hand off his mouth, ignoring his warnings. He opened his mouth to speak before being cut off by his father.
“Hush now, Jay.” The man smiled at his youngest son. “You don’t want to ruin Jonah’s chances of having a good time at Hogwarts, do you?” He glanced down at Jay who responded with rolling his eyes.
Jonah’s mother came forwards to wrap her arms around the green-eyed boy’s head tightly. “I’m
so
proud of you, sweetie,” she held him close. “Tell us everything when you come home for Christmas.” The woman ruffled her son’s light brown hair.
“Don’t worry, I will.” Jonah released himself from his mother, turning away from his family. “Bye, see you guys soon!” He bid them farewell before heading back to Cyrus not too far away. Jonah’s parents waved him their goodbyes, their figures becoming smaller and more unclear to Jonah as he walked away.
“Well they seemed friendly,” Cyrus remarked. “Shall we go?” He gracefully held out a hand for the other boy to take, grinning innocently.
Jonah rolled his eyes and played along. “We shall.” With his other free hand, he pushed his cart while Cyrus guided him around the mob.
After a few minutes of peaceful silence between the boys, they arrived at the spot. Standing before them in plain sight was the signs for platforms nine and ten, Jonah’s green eyes now
glancing from the two pillars to Cyrus’ proud face.
“We got here so fast,” Jonah raised an eyebrow. “How did you-”
“I told you I knew a faster way,” Cyrus cut him off. “My dad used to have a job that required constant traveling, plus my friend’s parents literally work at Hogwarts.” The dark-haired boy shrugged.
Jonah blinked. “Wait- you know people who are
professors
at Hogwarts?” He couldn’t believe his ears.
Cyrus let out a giggle at the other boy’s shocked expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to introduce you to them. But I personally think their kids are better,” He continued. “They’re my best friends, and I think you’ll get along pretty well with him.”
Jonah understood. “Yeah, sure. But we should probably go through the portal before we miss the train.”
“Right,” Cyrus stepped aside, letting Jonah go through first. “After you.” He gestured to the brick wall in front of them.
Jonah tightened his grip the cart, gulping down his fear before running into the portal.
When he opened his eyes, he let out a sigh of relief. The train hadn’t arrived yet.
Jonah was soon joined by Cyrus, whose face brightened with excitement. He pointed to a clutter of people, grabbed Jonah’s arm, and dragged him over.
“Hey, what are you-” Jonah began, beyond confused why Cyrus had yanked him over to a jumble of people waiting by the ticket booth for the train to arrive.
“I’m introducing you to my friends!” Cyrus exclaimed with great delight, his reaction seeming like he had won an Oscar. He motioned his hand over to two people specifically from the crowd, who’s backs were facing them.
Cyrus called to get their attention. “Hey, guys! I’m back.” He cheerfully waved to his friends.
The two people slowly turned around.
“‘Bout freaking time-” One of them snickered.
“Wait-” the two girls were now facing Cyrus and Jonah, their mouths dropped open.
“
Jonah
?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“
Jonah
?”
“Wait-
huh
?”
The four teens faces were absolutely dumbfounded. They all remained jaw-dropped, staring at each and every one of them with confusion written all over their faces. The silence soon became quite unbearable so Buffy took the initiative and broke it.
“You guys,” she gestured her hand over to Jonah. “He’s the guy I was telling you about yesterday, he was the dude I met outside of the Quidditch supply outlet!” Buffy enthusiastically waltzed over to where Jonah stood, punching his shoulder in a friendly way.
Andi followed after her friend, her dark copper eyes sparkling in the morning sunlight as she made her way over to Jonah with his overloaded cart of items. Andi pointed to the young owl sleeping soundly inside of its small cage. “And I met him inside of Eeylops Owl Emporium, I helped Jonah pick out his new pet owl right here.” She smiled and raised her head proudly.
Cyrus lifted his eyebrows. “Really? It’s such a weird coincidence that we all met Jonah yesterday in different parts of Diagon Alley.” The dark-haired boy shifted to face his childhood friends and add on his own story of how he met Jonah. “Remember when I told you guys last night that there was someone in Ollivanders who was able to get their wand after only just the second try?” Cyrus’ compliment made Jonah feel a light blush begin to creep onto his cheeks. The green-eyed boy started to rub his lower neck, which, fortunately, nobody seemed to notice him doing.
Andi and Buffy nodded their heads in unison, signaling Cyrus to continue. “That ‘someone’ was Jonah,” he smiled at the blushing boy who was relieved to hear that Cyrus didn’t touch on the part when Jonah’s entire face was covered in ashes. “And I was lucky enough to see him again today.” Cyrus’ eyes now remained fully on Jonah’s even after he finished his recall of their first meeting. The girls took notice of the loving gaze Cyrus was giving Jonah, but they decided to not mention it.
For Jonah, he found the current situation oddly strange, but quite beneficial on his behalf that he had already made new friends before even entering his new school. He never felt so at ease, to him it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. The few previous months leading up to the present had been beyond nerve racking for him. In past years, Jonah had a continuously rough time with making friendships and sustaining them, so he did not have that many. Yet, despite his bad luck, his parents always reassured him that he would “meet the right people” at Hogwarts. Jonah was now definite that the people standing before him fit the description perfectly.
Jonah’s trip down memory lane was cut short by Andi. “I think it was destined that we all meet,” she predicted, confident that their meetings were not just a mere coincidence. “The universe set us up so we could all be friends.”
Buffy rolled her eyes in a huff. “I think your dad is rubbing off on you too much.” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the short-haired girl. “He literally thinks everything on the planet is spiritual, including plants and inanimate objects.”
Andi shrugged, a chuckle escaping her lips. “Well, he
is
the professor of herbology.”
“Your dad is one of the Hogwarts professors?” Jonah asked. “Cyrus was just telling me about that earlier.”
“See, I told you, I don’t lie,” Cyrus chirped.
Jonah was opening his mouth to retaliate before all four teens heard a loud rumbling sound echoing in the distance that began to come closer and closer to the platform. A horn sounded, the volume rising quickly as it traveled on the train tracks. Jonah, Cyrus, Andi and Buffy saw a huge puff of smoke leave the smokestack before they brought their attention upon a large rusty red and gray lined express train exit through the smog. The Hogwarts Express was such an old vehicle that the paint along the sides of it were wearing away, giving the train a very filthy and chipped exterior. Nevertheless, the four soon-to-be-Hogwarts-students jumped to the front of the line before any other students could.
“We’re going to find a compartment together, right?” Jonah was a little shy to ask. He definitely did not want to mess up his words around his new friends, but he did not want to seem too clingy either.
Cyrus turned to look at Jonah. “No, we’re all going in separate cars.” He stared blankly at the anxious green-eyed boy and blinked very slowly at him before his expression altered. “Of
course
we’re gonna go together!” Cyrus shook his head and laughed, gripping Jonah’s shoulder. “We’d never leave you by yourself.”
“All aboard!”
The conductor announced from the train.
The four teens carefully stepped onto the old fashioned train, overwhelmed with excitement that in a few hours they would be arriving at Hogwarts. They each handed their train ticket to the conductor politely, then all walked together to find a car for themselves. Any other passenger riding on the train would say that the four adolescents looked like a pack of animals, seeing as they were walking side by side as if they had been inseparable since birth.
“Here, do you guys want to bunk in this one?” Buffy pointed to a train car that was clean, and appeared to be slightly more expanded than the others, which was perfect for the four of them and all their luggage.
“Yeah, sure.” Jonah agreed as he followed Buffy’s lead.
The four friends set down their bags onto the floor of the train car and sat on the cushioned seats. Buffy sat by the window with Andi sitting silently on her right, and across from them sat Jonah, eagerly peering out the window, with Cyrus to his left. Although it didn’t seem like it from how calmly Jonah sat down, the green-eyed boy was more than delighted to have Cyrus sitting so closely to him on the cushion. And because of that, only Cyrus noticed that Jonah’s ears had turned red.
“So, guys,” Buffy broke the ice. “What Hogwarts house do you guys think you’ll get into?” She glanced upon her friends with a wild grin.
Andi replied to her friend first. “Mmm maybe Gryffindor or Ravenclaw for me.” She looked up at the ceiling deep in thought.
Cyrus nodded his approval. “I think I’ll probably get into Hufflepuff,” he wasn’t exactly sure. “I don’t think any of the other houses fit me honestly.”
Buffy, Andi, and Cyrus all turned to Jonah, who was staring intently at the dusty floor, awaiting his response. He snapped out of his thoughts and quickly apologized. “Oh, uh, I’m s-sorry,” He avoided their eyes and his attention fell on his hands, which were visibly shaking. “I don’t really know.”
“Hey,” Cyrus spoke softly, carefully inching his body closer to Jonah and placing a hand over his. “Are you alright?”
Jonah sighed, closing his eyes for a brief moment. “I wish I was.” The boy paused before continuing, “I have really bad anxiety, so whenever I make even a small mistake, my mind freaks out.” Jonah gripped his hands tightly, as he opened his eyes again. “I just want to impress you guys but I’m just not cut-out for making friends.”
His confession seemed to simmer in the air before the other three teens registered it. Jonah turned to see a pained expression written all over Cyrus’ face. Buffy and Andi shared a glance with each other and a faint smile appeared on their lips along with a glint of solemn in their pupils.
“Jonah,” Buffy’s voice was gentle and comforting. “You don’t need to impress us, we already like you for who you are. It doesn’t matter if you have anxiety or not, everyone has their own issues that they have to deal with.”
“Hell, I used to have panic attacks too,” Cyrus chimed in, wrapping an arm around Jonah’s shoulder and pulling him closer to show his support. “I used to become a literal human waterfall, I looked so soaked.”
Jonah cracked a small smile. “Thanks you, guys.” The three teens nodded in return, their conversation now shifting back to a much lighter topic. They chatted about their home lives and caught Jonah up with all the crazy adventures Buffy, Cyrus, and Andi had experienced in their youth. They all bonded, the four of them growing closer despite only meeting Jonah the day before.
Many minutes soon passed by, the four teenagers unaware of how long they had been talking, and an announcement sounded over the speaker from the conductor. He informed the passengers on the train that the they would be arriving at Hogwarts very shortly.
Jonah immediately perked up. “Woah, has it been two hours
already
?” The green-eyed boy was shocked at how fast time had flown.
Buffy raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Psh, apparently. Wow, who knew that talking about our insane backstories would take so long.” Next to her, Andi held back her laughter.
“Guys, we’re literally going to be at Hogwarts in a few minutes…” Cyrus told his friends. “How are you not freaking out right now?”
Jonah patted his friends’ shoulder and chuckled. “Trust me, I am. But I’ve been ready for this moment for a long time.” He gazed off into space, starry eyed. He was recalling the time when he told everything he wanted to do at Hogwarts to his parents. The green-eyed boy sighed happily.
Suddenly, the Hogwarts express train came to a halt. The moving lands of green trees and bushes that they had seen during their trip were now gone, the only color that filled the space outside of the train was black except the dim yellow light escaping the crescent moon. It was now late evening, and the sun had long set, but the first-year students hadn’t lost any of their energy.
Andi, Cyrus, Jonah, and Buffy filed out of their compartment, following the other first year
students who were exiting off of the train. They remained in a huddle, until a staff member from Hogwarts escorted the kids down a shady pathway until they came to a fleet of small boats.
The four teenagers’ attention drifted away from the sparkling lake up to the large school that stood behind it. Jonah audibly gasped, drawing in the cold air that was surrounding him.
What they saw was extraordinary, nothing like any picture they had ever seen in
The Daily Prophet
. Hogwarts was even bigger than they imagined, it’s pillars standing wide and tall, nearly scraping the tops of the clouds. It appeared to be illuminated from the inside, a multitude of colors beautifully bouncing off its bricks giving the school a bright exterior. The gigantic building didn’t even seem like a school, more like a castle for a royal family to live in.
The Hogwarts gatekeeper motioned the group to keep moving as the students arranged themselves into the many small boats. The four teenagers rode across the lake in silence, but occasionally grinned at one another with excitement.
~
After a short while, the boats stopped at the shore. The students were ordered back into a group as they followed the gatekeeper of Hogwarts down a twisty path to the entrance of the school. Many of the other first-year students within the group started talking quite loudly behind them, slowly separating from the rest of the group.
“Can you
believe
it? We’re going to be Gryffindors together, Natalie!”
“I’m going to become a seeker as a first year, just like Harry Potter!”
“We haven’t even been sorted into our houses yet-”
“Becca, you can’t be serious…”
“
Hah
! Like they’d pick
you
to be seeker, I’m the one who’s had three years of flying camp on my resume.”
Three male students that Buffy, Cyrus and Andi were unfamiliar with laughed at a student in a mocking manner. But Jonah had found something strangely familiar about the three boys.
Those were the guys from outside Eeylops Owl Emporium
...
Jonah immediately felt his face constrict. He realized that the three boys must have been making fun of the girl, and despite his major anxiety, he was never a bystander when someone was being bullied.
Jonah marched straight over to the three bullies without any second thought. “Hey! Stop it, you’re making a scene for no reason. You shouldn’t make fun of other people for what they want to be.” The green-eyed boy glared at the three bullies.
A blonde-haired boy who appeared to be the leader of the three, stepped forward. “Oh yeah? Do you even know who I am, kid? I’m Reed Greyson, and you’re going to regret saying that.” His mouth formed a smug smile as he glanced down and looked over Jonah’s hand-me-down robes. “Plus, the last time I checked I didn’t take orders from a low-class child who can’t even afford decent clothes.” He high-fived his two friends while cackling.
Jonah opened his mouth to fight back before his three newly-made friends came up from behind him to back him up.
Cyrus grasped Jonah’s shoulder and stared very intensely into Reed’s eyes. “Congrats Reed, you have a lot of money, so what? Just because you’re wealthy doesn’t mean you can buy yourself a better attitude.”
Cyrus’ comeback earned many “Ooh’s” from the other students, along with a few kids laughing. Reed was not pleased in the slightest.
He walked up to Cyrus, his clean sleek shoes roughly stomping against the dirt. Nobody knew what he was planning on doing because his revenge was cut short by the gatekeeper telling the students to quit fooling around and catch up with the others.
Reed slowly backed away from Cyrus, but not before letting out a grunt and glaring daggers at him and Jonah.
Andi, Buffy, Cyrus and Jonah turned to each other after Reed and his friends walked away. Jonah buried his face in his hands.
“I can’t believe I just
did
that.” The green-eyed boy was angry with himself. “I haven’t even taken a step inside the school and someone
already
has it out for me?” Jonah groaned.
Buffy came up on Jonah’s left side. “Don’t worry dude, we will won’t let Reed touch you,” she assured him. “And if he tries, we’ll beat him up.” The curly-haired girl cracked her knuckles.
Andi and Cyrus nodded at Buffy’s claim. They were ready to defend their friend’s honor no matter the cost, as long as Jonah was okay.
Cyrus went over to Jonah’s right side. “Also, I’m pretty sure that idiot’s getting into Slytherin anyway,” he predicted. “He’s more cunning than anyone else I know. Plus for some reason all the bad people end up in Slytherin.”
“True,” Andi agreed, turning to Jonah. “So you should probably avoid any Slytherins as best as you can.” She squeezed Jonah’s shoulder once she saw the frightened look on his face.
“No need to worry, Jonah,” Buffy chuckled. “The only times when you’re going to see any Slytherins are in your classes and in the hallway.”
Jonah exhaled the breath he was holding in. “You’re right. I just hope at least one of you guys end up in the same house as me.”
Cyrus shrugged. “Well, even if we don’t, we’ll still all hang out, right?”
“
Right
.” The other three responded in unison.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
This was it. Right before the group of young witches and wizards was the grand entrance to Hogwarts. The gatekeeper motioned them to come forwards, and he began to explain a few important rules of how the sorting process was going to unfold.
But unlike everyone else, Jonah wasn’t paying any attention to what he was saying. He already knew the rules; the “do’s” and “don'ts” of the magical school. He was so thrilled that he couldn’t keep still, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet while impatiently waiting for the gatekeeper to finish his spiel. The boy looked like he was about to bounce off the walls.
All of a sudden, the tall and beautifully patterned doors of Hogwarts slowly opened, revealing a small staircase that lead up to the Great Hall, where the sorting ceremony was to take place. The gatekeeper lead the group of students inside, closing the doors behind them and locking it shut. Buffy, Cyrus, Andi and Jonah all pinched each other with excitement.
At the top of the small staircase, there stood a young but contained witch, with long wavy black hair tied tightly up in a bun. She walked down a few steps before greeting the group.
“Hello students,” her eyes displayed a glint of shimmer. “Welcome to the start of your first year at Hogwarts.”
Next to Buffy, Andi tried to hold herself back from squealing. “
Hey, mom
!” The short-haired girl whispered-yelled.
The young professor glanced at Andi for a split second, her eyes pleading her daughter to not speak, knowing well that she could not resist calling unnecessary attention to herself. This was going to be her first year teaching at Hogwarts, and she knew that she would be fired on the spot if she acted like an immature role model for the first-year children. Bex also knew that she wasn’t exactly the best-fit person to be teaching a subject at a wizardry school, but her husband Bowie, the herbology professor, convinced the headmistress to let her take the job. She had thanked him immensely for the huge favor.
Bex ignored Andi’s comment, facing the crowd and continued with her directions. “You students will enter the Great Hall respectfully and orderly, and will be called up to the sorting hat, where you will be placed into one of the four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.”
All the students could barely contain their eagerness to go inside, especially Andi, Buffy, Cyrus and Jonah. Jonah leaned over to whisper to Andi.
“So that’s your mom?” He asked her quietly.
“Yeah! She’s a bit young but she’s a lot of fun to hang out with,” Andi replied, covering her mouth to muffle the sound.
Jonah nodded. “Does that mean she can let you bend the rules since you’re her child?”
Andi scoffed. “In my dreams. If she ever did that, my grandma CeCe would never let her hear the end of it.”
Jonah giggled softly at her over exaggerated face of disappointment.
All of a sudden, the other students started moving and going up the stairs. Jonah and Andi then realized they had missed the end of Bex’s instructions, which they shrugged off. The two caught up with Buffy and Cyrus as they witnessed the doors to the Great Hall open ever so dramatically to reveal the content on the other side.
The four teenagers were at a loss for words. The Great Hall was enormous, its design and home-like feel seemed to be inspired by older and more traditional items like stone-fireplaces and messages inked in old tan parchment. Just below the ceiling, hundreds of gleaming candles were floating in a large huddle, giving the large room its light and color while also appearing like bright stars illuminating a dark night sky. Glancing back to ground-level, there were four long tables bolted to the floor in front of them, each had students of different color schemes on their neckties sitting at them. Jonah guessed that those were each of the house colors.
Bex lead the first-year students down the aisle in between the tables, and stopped when they were just in front of the Sorting Hat, which was perched silently on top of a brown wooden stool. But all of the student’s attention was on the headmistress of Hogwarts sitting calmly behind it, along with some of her fellow professors.
Bex cleared her throat loudly to grab their focus. “When I call your name, you shall come forward and I shall place the sorting hat on your head.”
“Reed Greyson?”
The blonde-haired bully plastered on a devious smile, waving a quick goodbye to his friends and strolled up to the sorting hat. Bex plopped the old tattered brown hat onto his head.
It was only two seconds before his decision was made. “
Slytherin
!”
The long table farthest to the right of the hall cheered and welcomed Reed with many playful punches and wolf-whistling.
“Serves him right, Reed’s such a jerk,” Buffy told her friends who nodded in agreement. “Now he’ll be with his own kind.”
“Andi Mack?”
The short brown-haired girl jolted in surprise, very taken aback. Buffy attempted to stabilize her friend but Andi nearly tripped over her own two feet trying to reach the Sorting Hat. A few other students snickered at her disheveledness.
The Sorting Hat mumbled to itself a bit before announcing Andi's house placement.
“
Ravenclaw
!”
All the students wearing blue-silver colored robes congratulated the newest member of their house.
Bex looked at the next name on her list. “Libby Rosa?” Since there was a note on the paper stating that Libby unable to hear, Bex tried her very best to make sure her lips were readable when she said her name.
A short girl with mid-length blonde wavy hair was standing quietly at the back of the group and started walking up to the podium, earning many whispers from the students around her.
“I thought that girl was deaf or something
.”
“
Has she been lying about it the whole time?”
“
What a fake.”
The rude commentary made by the other students caused Buffy, Cyrus, and Jonah’s blood to boil. If only they hadn’t been in front of so many professors, they would have confronted their ignorant classmates. What the other classmates didn’t know, was that Libby was an expert at reading lips at this point in her life, since many people she encountered did not know or understand sign language.
Libby walked up to Bex before sitting down under the sorting hat. Libby signed a quick “
thank you”
to her. Bex smiled and nodded.
The sorting hat was placed on her head lightly, and the old piece of fabric was fast to make his decision. “
Hufflepuff
!”
The upperclassmen sitting at the third long table rose up and clapped happily as Libby came over to sit with them.
“Kira Armstrong?”
Neither Buffy nor Cyrus recognized the name. The name belonged to a fierce-looking curly-haired girl, her intense facial features making her seem more like a sassy diva than a young teenage witch. She seemed like she could transfer an entire argument to someone else with just her two brown hazelnut eyes.
She strutted up to Bex, flaunting her modern chic robes to the crowd, giving the professor an odd stare before sitting. The sorting hat mumbled to itself longer than usual, everyone suspected that it could not decide, but after a good twenty seconds it announced Kira’s house.
“
Gryffindor
!”
The students with gold and red neckties jumped up from their seats to greet Kira, cheering all the while.
Buffy yawned. “This is taking forever.”
Jonah patted her shoulder and sighed heavily. “Tell me about it.”
“My legs are going to give way if I don’t sit down,” Cyrus complained to his friends.
Luckily, he didn’t have to wait too much longer.
“Cyrus Goodman?”
The dark-haired boy’s eyes widened, Jonah and Buffy urged him to go up. Cyrus turned to Jonah to say one last thing before he went up to the hat.
“I hope we end up in the same house, Jonah,” He spoke softly, in almost a whisper.
Warmth spread to Jonah’s cheeks. “Me too.”
Cyrus shifted his focus back on the sorting hat, resting himself on the stool to await the announcement of his house.
The sorting hat smiled and chuckled to itself by what it saw while he was placed on Cyrus’ head.
“
Hufflepuff
!”
Cyrus grinned and went to sit down beside Libby at the Hufflepuff table.
~
The following ten minutes of sorting students into their houses felt like an entire day had come and gone. Buffy and Jonah were bored beyond comprehension, the entire experience was like they were watching a movie with no plot whatsoever. Not even the other older students were enthusiastic to greet the newcomers anymore. Every professor had not anticipated how much larger the class of First-Years was going to be than usual.
Bex was relieved that the list of names was almost done. Only a few kids remained to be sorted.
“Buffy Driscoll?”
The curly-haired girl waved a celebratory fist in the air as she made her way over to Bex and sat down.
The sorting hat knew immediately where she belonged. “
Gryffindor
!”
Jonah’s anxiety seemed to double from the fact Buffy, Andi, and Cyrus were all in separate houses, which meant that the four of them mostly likely would not be together that often during their entire stay at Hogwarts. He tried his very best to gulp down his nerves. At the very least, Jonah was certain that he would be with one of his friends. (He secretly hoped it was Cyrus)
“Jonah Beck?”
The green-eyed boy took a deep final breath before walking over to Bex and the Sorting Hat. He could feel the entire school watching his every move, which did not help with his anxiety in the slightest.
Jonah sat on the stool, fidgeting relentlessly with his hands to keep himself from having a panic attack like the one on the train.
The Sorting Hat felt Jonah’s anxiety and urged the boy to close his eyes so he couldn’t see the crowd staring at him. Jonah obeyed, slipping his eyelids shut.
The hat began mumbling so much it seemed as if it was having an actual conversation with itself. The Sorting Hat was having great difficulty with coming to a decision but it told Jonah to be patient.
After almost a minute went by with complete silence in the Great Hall, the Sorting Hat made up its mind. From their different seats, Buffy, Cyrus, and Andi prayed that Jonah would be in their house.
“
Slytherin
!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“
Slytherin
!”
Jonah felt his entire body go numb. That word spoken by Bex alone caused Jonah to have an override inside his brain, the boy acting on his feelings without further consideration of the consequences. If Jonah could do it all over again, he would have tried to stop himself from the huge overreaction that he had put on display for every witch and wizard in the entire school.
“
What?!
” Jonah shouted, jumping off the stool, making eye contact with the Sorting Hat. “Are you being serious?” For that brief moment, he completely forgot about the hundreds of other pairs of eyes watching him. Buffy, Cyrus and Andi sat in shock from the discovery of Jonah’s house.
“I can’t be in Slytherin!” He yelled at the sorting hat, who maintained a straight face despite Jonah’s disorderly demur.
Since Jonah’s outbursts were heard clearly by the crowd, the Slytherin table, packed with many large brute-like students, started laughing and making fun of Jonah. They cackled like a wild pack of hyenas, pointing their fingers at Jonah which only helped to humiliate him even more. The green-eyed boy was positive that they were going to devour him alive if he went to sit with them. He tried one last time to coax the Sorting Hat to place him somewhere else.
The tattered hat shook its head no. “Listen, Jonah,” it began slowly. “You will do well in Slytherin, trust me. You will do very great things.”
Jonah was crestfallen. “Please!” He pleaded the Sorting Hat, “I want to be with my friends!”
A couple feet away, Bex was straining herself from dragging Jonah away from the scene to his table so the Sorting ceremony could come to a close. But after seeing the pure agony in Jonah’s eyes and his refusal to leave his friends, Bex temporarily pushed down her professional duties to let the issue be resolved on its own.
“Jonah,” the brown hat whispered into the young boy’s ear so nobody else could hear. “The other Slytherins may be vicious rattlesnakes but you, Jonah Beck, are a kind friendly rosy boa. You’re going to be alright, I promise.”
Jonah had absolutely no clue what the hat’s strange metaphor symbolized, but he nodded anyway, pretending he understood. Jonah closed his eyes, knowing that he would have to be face to face with the pesky Slytherins who were just poking fun at him.
He turned away from the Sorting Hat, stepping down the small stairs in silence towards the Slytherin table. Jonah made contact with no one, he kept his head high and eyes strictly forward. Each step he took felt like he was walking on a tightrope, any foot placement out of line and he’d fall to his doom. Only in actual reality, Jonah was confronting his doom either way.
The green-eyed boy silently sat at the edge of the table, a few feet away from the other Slytherins. It was only a matter of seconds before Jonah was swarmed with students all around him, three of those students being Reed and his cronies, either mocking him or laughing at him. Overwhelm filled Jonah’s chest to the brink. He immediately shoved his head on the long wooden table and covered himself up using his arms. He initially thought the teasing would subside if he made himself unavailable from the rest of them, showing that he was not interested in their immature taunting, but boy, was he wrong.
Bex tucked her list away into her black robes and spoke up. “Everyone, quiet down. Now that everyone has been sorted into their houses-”
Her words became a muffled jumble of sounds to Jonah’s ears. He could barely hear any of the following things she said, the students still surrounding him, basically suffocating him, but were whispering their mockery so they wouldn’t get yelled at by any professors. The green-eyed boy was on the edge of having a major anxiety attack, his breathing became irregular and was having a difficult time gathering oxygen to his lungs through the closed tight space of his arms.
Luckily, just before Jonah’s trembling body broke out into hyperventilation, a tall dirty-blonde haired boy with sparkling green eyes similar to his saved him from the pack of wild Slytherins. The boy took Jonah by the hand and rushed him to the very end of the table, so the disrespectful Slytherin boys (and a few girls) who were bullying him could not go near the boy. Jonah saw that there was only one other person sitting at that area of the table, an average height girl with wavy blonde hair and large blue eyes, the tips of her eyelids covered in black mascara, highlighting her long lashes.
The tall dirty blonde male sat Jonah down and took a seat to his right, resting his hand lightly on Jonah’s shoulder.
“You okay, newbie?” The boy asked Jonah, who had started to recover from the traumatic event. “You took quite the verbal beating from those clowns.” Completely out of the blue before Jonah could reply to him, trays and platters of food magically appeared in front of them, the tall boy being the first to grab a tortilla chip with ease; as if he was used to it occurring. Jonah gave the boy a shocked look, to which the dirty blonde boy laughed.
“What, never seen food randomly appear in front of you before?” He asked Jonah with a playful grin.
Jonah shook his head no. “In my dreams, maybe. What year are
you
in?”
“I’m a first year, just like you,” the boy replied simply.
Jonah scrunched his eyebrows. “There’s no way that’s possible- you didn’t even come in with the rest of the group.”
The taller boy shrugged. “Well I’m technically supposed to be with the second years. But I got held back.” He sighed.
The girl leaned into their conversation from across the table. “This idiot right here failed too many of his classes last year so now he’s getting a chance to redo them.” She snickered as the dirty blonde boy glared daggers at her. “Also, TJ, you really gotta work on introducing yourself before talking about whatever the hell pops into your mind.” The girl rolled her eyes at him before turning to Jonah and holding out a hand. “Names Amber, I’m this nerd’s older sister. I’m a third year.”
Jonah smiled politely, taking her hand. “I’m Jonah. And as you probably saw, I’m a huge mess.”
TJ intervened. “Naw dude, trust me, I’ve seen worse.”
Jonah perked up. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he grabbed another chip, “I’ve seen people protest their house placement to the point of trying to harm the Sorting Hat. That poor piece of fabric has been through heaven and hell, I tell you.”
Amber rolled her eyes again at him. “That was literally you, liar.”
TJ‘s eyebrows shot up. “Hey! He didn’t need to know that!”
Amber shifted her focus back on Jonah. “Don’t worry, you’re unfortunately not the only one who hates being sorted into Slytherin. Because of its bad reputation, whenever people get placed in here it’s like a mental tag with the words ‘bad guy’ get stapled to your face; no matter if you actually are one or not.” She gave him a crooked expression.
Jonah hung his head. “Listen, before, I didn’t care what house I was going to end up in as long I was attending this school…” The green-eyed boy let out a long breath. “But, the day I was getting all my supplies, I met three people who instantly became my friends. I have never been able to make friends that fast before in my entire life, and once I was around them I never wanted to let go of them.” As Jonah spoke, he could feel the pained expressions of TJ and Amber’s faces watching his every move. “But now I’m separated from them. And from what they previously told me, they don’t like Slytherins. The one time I have something good in my life and the universe decides to take it away from me.” Without Jonah’s knowledge, tears had slipped out of his eyes and made clear streaking marks down the boy’s cheeks.
TJ and Amber looked from each other to Jonah, making up their minds to come over to him and let him cry out his feelings. The two Kippen siblings wrapped their arms loosely around Jonah giving him something to brace.
After a minute, Jonah’s tears cleared up. The two other teens slowly peeled their arms off of him, returning to their previous seats.
Jonah looked between the two of them with confusion. “Why did you guys hug me? Both of you barely know me.”
TJ and Amber smiled. “We were just helping you out dude, you looked like you needed that hug,” TJ responded.
Jonah felt surprisingly comfortable with the two of them. “I think you’re right, I did. Thank you.”
“It’s no problem,” Amber waved him off. “Plus, if you want us to ‘get to know you better’ we’d love to hear you tell us all about yourself.” TJ, for the first time that day, nodded in agreement with her.
Jonah blinked. “You do? Well, okay then…”
During the rest of the feast, Jonah did exactly that. He told his new friends all about his childhood and how much he wanted to go to Hogwarts, how he had kept a calendar back home and crossed off each day until it had arrived. Jonah talked about his parents and his annoying younger brother who annoyed the hell out of him, to which TJ and Amber replied with their own stories of each other and how they didn’t get along at all in their youth. Jonah briefly mentioned that he was bisexual as a side comment, and to his surprise, Amber added that she was a lesbian along with TJ proudly proclaiming his gayness.
Jonah told them more about his three friends and how he had met them, with the addition of what the four of them had already endured in the span of three days. TJ and Amber were intrigued in all of his interesting stories about how he had stood up to Reed or how his friends helped him after his anxiety attack, but they took a particular interest in why Jonah seemed so much more fond of his friend Cyrus than Buffy or Andi.
A sly smile spread across TJ’s lips. “So, Jonah, you sure that would have wanted
any
of your friends to be in your house?”
Jonah had no clue what he was playing at. “Uh, yeah? Why?”
“Because it honestly seems like that one guy
Cyprus
or whatever is your favorite among the three of them,” the dirty blonde boy was smirking evilly at him.
Jonah frowned. “His name is
Cyrus
.”
TJ then proceeded to chuckle, earning a light shove from Jonah and an eyebrow raise from Amber.
“Okay well.. me and him have uh, been through a lot more than I have with the other two,” Jonah said matter-of-factly. It wasn’t fully untrue, since it was technically factual, but Jonah would be lying to himself if he said that he didn’t feel his heart beating a million times faster than normal whenever Cyrus was around him.
Amber joined in with her brother’s teasing. “Jonah, that’s rubbish and you know it. Us Kippen siblings can sense whenever one of our friends has a crush on someone,” she informed him.
Jonah’s jaw dropped open with the addition of his cheeks flushing a deep red. He bit down on his lip, searching for something to say that would turn down her assumption. Unfortunately, his brain could not come up with a convincing contradiction fast enough.
“Okay, okay, fine,” the green-eyed boy groaned as he heard the other two snicker next to him. “When we were in Ollivanders he called me cute.. and maybe I haven’t gotten over it yet.” It was true, he hadn’t. Cyrus’ flirty remarks made Jonah swoon, nearly causing Jonah to forget that he hasn’t even known him for that long at all; yet it seemed like they had known each other for their entire lives. The boy’s personalities had appeared to instantly click like two puzzle pieces when they first met.
“
Oooh
,” TJ cooed, taking a sip of his butterbeer. “What house did he get placed in?”
Jonah tapped his chin. “Hufflepuff, I’m pretty sure.”
TJ choked on his drink, causing the fluid to go down the wrong pipe. “Hufflepuff?!” He coughed a few more times. “You’re being serious?”
From the opposite side of the table, Amber handed TJ her glass of water and turned to a very utterly baffled Jonah. “What he means is that Slytherins usually don’t go after Hufflepuffs.”
“More like
never
,” TJ commented, setting the water glass on the table. “But, based off of what you’ve said, it does seem like you two could make a good couple.” He thought about it a little.
Now it was Jonah’s turn to overreact because of shock. “I,
what
?!”
TJ looked at Jonah like he had grown two heads. “You’ve never dated anyone before, Beck?”
Jonah blushed. “It was hard for me to make friends, how you expect me to be able to get a
date
?” He exaggerated his tone for a sarcastic affect.
TJ shrugged his shoulders. Amber was nearly getting a headache from the two boy’s idiotic conversation. She knew that boys were among the worst people with relationship advice; but she kept her mouth shut and watched their silly dating talk ensue.
“Also, I’m not almost fifteen like you TJ, I’m only thirteen,” Jonah reminded him.
“Oh right, my bad.” TJ glanced off, pondering whether or not to change the subject to a lighter topic of discussion. Luckily, he didn’t have to. The headmistress of Hogwarts had gotten up from her seat and announced that the feast was coming to a close, and that the students should follow their prefects to their dormitories.
“All Slytherins, attention!” A tall, much older boy with hair similar to TJ’s, had rounded up the group of Slytherins. “Follow me to the dormitories.”