As the Hogwarts Express moved closer to the school, an uneasy feeling started in Warren's stomach. His two least favorite parts of the school year were coming up: the carriage ride to the school, and the Sorting. Warren had his own personal reasons for not enjoying the carriage rides to school. His first year he had been captivated by the boat rides across the lake. When he returned for his second year and spotted the carriages he was startled so badly Wilbur was afraid he might collapse. As for the Sorting, his own Sorting hadn't gone very well. He never discussed it with Wilbur, but Wilbur was watching as Warren had walked up to the stool, placed the Sorting Hat on his head, and succumbed to his fate. Wilbur had told him afterward that he'd been worried the Sorting Hat wasn't going to say anything at all. Indeed, it may have been a school record that Warren sat on the stool a full five minutes before the Sorting Hat at last bellowed out, "Ravenclaw!" Since those two occasions, Warren had become uncomfortable and impatient with the ride to school and the following Sorting ceremony.
He tried to distract himself as he felt the speed of the train slowing. He scribbled down some ideas of how to get back at Augustus Gravelle on an old piece of parchment, but stopped as they gradually became more violent.
"I'm glad we're almost there, I'm getting hungry," Fuzz-Head said.
"We have all these sweets," Wilbur reminded him.
"I'm getting hungry for real food."
The train pulled to a stop at the small, dark platform that was Hogsmeade Station, and everyone began gathering their belongings. Warren stepped out into the cool September night and took several deep breaths to help calm himself. Wilbur came up behind him, followed by Fuzz-Head.
"Come on," Wilbur said. "I've found us a carriage."
If Wilbur noticed Warren closing his eyes as he came up to the carriage and climbed inside, he didn't say anything. Once the carriage started rolling towards the school, Warren turned to Fuzz-Head.
"Since you're in Hufflepuff, we won't have a chance to talk again until tomorrow. We can meet in the library at our first break before lunch."
"I'll talk to Kendra this evening. I'm a fifth year, but she's in your year, so you'll have Potions with her at some point. Hufflepuff usually has Potions with the Ravenclaws."
"My goodness, you are a fifth year. That means you have your OWLs this year. Will you have time to study for your OWLs and work on our mission?" Warren asked.
"Oh sure. I do pretty well in school, I probably know most of it," Fuzz-Head said. "I'll just need to work on my problem areas and I'll do just fine."
When the carriage pulled to a stop, they hurried up to the castle and said their goodbyes as Fuzz-Head headed for the Hufflepuff table. Warren and Wilbur went over to their own table, and sat amongst the other boys in their year. They seemed to be on friendly terms, although the other boys were still cautious of them. Warren stared down at his plate and wished it was already time to eat. As Wilbur could attest, Warren had a passionate and insatiable appetite for food of all kinds, and genuinely enjoyed the feasts in the Great Hall. He was also known for sneaking down to the kitchens for snacks, and could usually be found near the fire in the evenings, toasting marshmallows or bread, and enjoying a mug of cocoa. But before the feast could begin, Warren had to suffer through the Sorting.
As Professor Tuttle led the first years into the Great Hall, Warren pulled out a handsome pheasant-feather quill and a large square of parchment, and began drawing out a notice to be posted on the Ravenclaw notice board. At the top of the page, in the direct center, he drew an elegant Slytherin crest, surrounded by the other three house crests. Below this, in painstaking calligraphy, he wrote out the words, "Join the Group for Slytherin Acceptance!" The Sorting began with Professor Tuttle calling out the first name on his list, and Warren continued on with his notice.
"There's my brother!" said Thomas Polk, another fourth year boy sitting beside Wilbur.
"I didn't know you had a brother," Warren said, looking up from his parchment. "What's his name?"
"His name's Chester, and I hope he's in Ravenclaw," Thomas said, worried and excited at the same time. Warren smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he will be," Warren said.
The nervous boy known as Chester Polk was called, and he stepped forward to put on the Sorting Hat. It immediately yelled out, "Ravenclaw!" Chester smiled, and headed for the cheering Ravenclaw table, where his brother scooted down to make room for him.
"I made it! I'm in Ravenclaw!" Chester said. "I was worried I wouldn't be smart enough."
"We're glad to have you," Warren said to the smiling boy, hoping he was saying all the right things. It was important to him to not alienate himself from his fellow Ravenclaws, and he worked hard to reverse the damage of multiple unfortunate incidents. As Thomas and his brother chattered, the Sorting continued and Warren went back to his notice. He listed the day and time of the meetings, and that it would take place in the library, then decided to add that refreshments would be provided. If nothing else, perhaps he could lure people to the meetings with food. As he put the finishing touches on his notice, he gave a sigh of relief as the Sorting ended with Amber Youngblood being sorted into Gryffindor.
Professor Sprout then walked up to the front to speak.
"Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts," she said with a smile. "I have a few start-of-term notices before we begin the feast. First off, I would like to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students. Also, our caretaker Mr. Yuan has asked that you be more careful around the tapestries and suits of armor. Many of the tapestries have been in this school for centuries, and are rather delicate. The suits of armor are a little more sturdy, but they are not for practicing spells, and there is to be no magic in the hallways."
Mr. Yuan was a hard-working and pleasant man, who was often clever about how he kept the students in line. He petitioned to allow his wife to stay at Hogwarts with him, since he would be spending almost all his time in the castle. His wife, referred to as Madam Yuan, shared a chamber with him on the second floor, and spent most of her time patiently repairing unraveled or torn tapestries, or tending to a collection of orchids she had brought in to the school greenhouses. Professor Longbottom had given her a shelf in one of the less dangerous greenhouses.
"Quidditch trials will begin the second week of term, be sure to sign up if you are interested in playing for your house team," Professor Sprout said. "Now let's enjoy the feast!"
The empty plates filled with food and the goblets filled with pumpkin juice. Warren was glad. Wilbur stood and reached for the Yorkshire puddings, knowing how fond of them Warren was, and Warren began filling his plate with lamb, roast beef, and some hearty array of vegetables. He took several Yorkshire puddings from Wibur and poured gravy on both them and his roast beef. He was so glad to finally be eating. Wilbur took a slower approach, being more particular in his dining habits. He waited patiently for the fish to be passed while examining Warren's notice.
"Good idea about the refreshments," he noted.
"I thought so," Warren said, adding liberal amounts of mint sauce to his lamb. "I hope we'll have a better turn out this year."
There was very little talk after that, as Warren didn't care to be interrupted too many times when he's enjoying his meals. When the desserts came up, Warren took some of the spotted dick, and Wilbur passed him down the treacle tart.
When the feast ended, Warren and Wilbur followed the crowd of Ravenclaws upstairs to the fifth floor, where they followed a steep, winding staircase up to the common room entrance. The bronze eagle door knocker on the door asked it's question to the person at the front of the line (presumably a prefect), who correctly answered and they were allowed inside.
Warren felt an immediate sense of comfort entering the Ravenclaw common room. It was like arriving home. The fire crackled in the fireplace, and he looked up to see Drusilla, trying to chirp a greeting to him. He posted his notice on the board, then went over to Drusilla. He opened her cage and let her step out onto his arm while he fumbled in his robe for something called a "Fwooper Treat."
After months of not knowing his Fwooper's preferred food and numerous complaints to the Magical Menagerie, they finally ordered and received a shipment of Fwooper Treats. There was nothing on the package to indicate what they were made of, but Drusilla seemed to enjoy them. Warren had no idea what the house-elves fed her during the summer. He put her back into her cage to finish her treat, and made his way up to the fourth year boys dormitory. He and Wilbur changed into their pajamas, then Warren grabbed a blanket to wrap around himself, went back down to the common room with some books and parchment, and sat by the fire.
Wilbur came down moments later, curious to see what Warren was up to.
"I'd just like to sit here by the fire and write in my journal, maybe look through more of The Dark Heart of Hogwarts, before I go to bed," Warren said. Wilbur nodded. He knew Warren was probably exhausted, but he enjoyed his evening ritual.
"I'll start working on your Christmas list," Wilbur said, taking a chair across from him and pulling out his notebook. They both worked long into the night until the fire had burned down and they fell asleep.
The next morning Warren was startled awake by the first students coming down for breakfast. He realized he and Wilbur had fallen asleep in front of the fire and that was why he was so stiff. He stretched, somewhat embarrassed by the stares of the other students. This wasn't how he'd wanted to start his first day of school, but oh well. He nudged Wilbur awake. They hurried to wash up and change into their school robes so that they could get to breakfast.
In the Great Hall, as they ate breakfast and the morning owls swooped in to deliver what little mail there was on the first day, their class schedules were handed out. Warren examined his schedule.
"First class is Potions with the Hufflepuffs," Warren said. "That's excellent, we'll get to meet Ms. Kettleburn."
"And your next class must be Divination, as I have a free period. That will be a free period and the break for me before lunch. I'll have lots of free time this morning," Wilbur commented.
"Good. After our meeting with Ms. Kettleburn we can discuss what you can be working on until my Divination class has ended," Warren said.
"That will be a lot of conversation during our Potions class. I hope we won't attract the attention of Professor Hooper," Wilbur said.
"We'll have time just before the class starts, hopefully we'll share a table with Kendra, and then after class we'll have some time."
"Not much, you have to get from the dungeons to the North Tower. That might take awhile," Wilbur said. He passed Warren some marmalade for his toast, while Warren selected several sausages from a large platter. While they were eating, a large barn owl swooped down and dropped a package in front of Wilbur. It was his traditional first day package from his mother, containing hand-embroidered handkerchiefs.
They finished with their breakfast early so they could get down to the dungeons to wait for the arrival of Kendra Kettleburn, only to realize they didn't know what she looked like. They stood by the door to the classroom, watching as Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws filed down the stairs, until a girl they didn't know strolled right up to them.
"Hello, you must be Warren and Wilbur. I'm Kendra Kettleburn, and Fuzzy told me all about your project for this year. You can count me in. I always like to stay busy, and I'm ready to start," the girl said. Her blonde hair was pulled back from her face into a very tight bun on the back of her head. She was quite pretty, and seemed ready for anything. She shook their hands, then used her wand to clean her hands after.
"Did we get something on you?" Warren asked.
"Oh no, I just like to stay clean. Germs and microorganisms are everywhere, and you really can't take any chances these days," Kendra said. "What would you like me to start on as far as the project goes?"
"I was thinking about that this morning, and I thought maybe you would have some better luck with the portraits," Warren said. "The portraits for the most part no longer trust me after Augustus Gravelle, a Slytherin boy I know, went around spreading rumors about me to them. Maybe you would have better luck getting them to talk. I'd like you to ask them if they know of secret passages if they have any behind them, or any other information regarding secrets of Hogwarts."
"Excellent," Kendra said, pulling out a leather book and a quill. She made notes in her book. "I'll be sure to record all of my efforts, and anything that I found out, who I found it out from, and what time. I think I'll start by getting more friendly with some of the more gossip-prone portraits, like the fat lady on the seventh floor, or her friend Violet."
"That sounds like a great way to begin," Warren said.
"I enjoy this type of thing," Kendra said. "I like figuring things out and researching. It's like solving a mystery."
"We can meet up in the library with Fuzz-Head on our first break before lunch, and fill you in on more details and plan a proper strategy," Warren said.
"Oh, I had an idea, too," Kendra said. "I think that all four of us should take different routes around the castle every day. When we're going to meals, or to classes, or to our common rooms, we should try and take a different route each time, looking for secret passageways or rarely used corridors."
"That's a wonderful idea," Wilbur said, writing this down in his own notebook. "I think we should start that at once, and we can fill in Fuzz-Head when we meet on our break."
The three of them found a table to themselves in Potions class. Professor Hooper came out of his office and stood to address the class.
"Welcome to another year of Potions," he said. Professor Hooper was a middle-aged man with red hair and a thick red beard. From what Wilbur had been able to learn about him, he started after Professor Slughorn's second retirement, he had attended Hogwarts in his youth and had been a Gryffindor. Before settling to a teaching position at Hogwarts he had traveled extensively, and he'd been the head of Gryffindor since Minerva McGongall's retirement. He was a gruff and cheerful fellow, with a large scar across his face. He claimed he had got it while mountain climbing, when he was attacked by a Graphorn. "Since it's your first day back, I thought I'd clear the dust out of yer heads by working on a fairly simple memory potion. Who can tell me a key ingredient in most memory potions?"
Warren, Kendra, and Wilbur all raised their hands (though Warren's was up first), as well as a few other students. Professor Hooper called on Warren.
"A key ingredient in most memory potions would be Jobberknoll feathers," Warren answered.
"That's correct, 5 points to Ravenclaw. Can you tell me what a Jobberknoll is, and why it's feathers are used in memory potions?" Professor Hooper said.
"A Jobberknoll is a small bird that makes no sound until the moment of it's death. At that point, it screams out every sound it has ever heard. Considering the amazing amount of memory required to recall every sound heard in the bird's lifetime, it's reasonable it's feathers are popular in memory potions," Warren replied.
"Excellent, Mr. Bones, another five points to Ravenclaw," Professor Hooper said. "What I'd like to do for this class is actually make a dual-purpose potion. I often like to combine my memory potions with wit-sharpening potions, both improving the other. I've provided the Jobberknoll feathers, they are in this box on my desk. I've listed the other ingredients on the board, most of you should have the needed potion ingredients except for maybe the armadillo bile. Either way, get whatever else you need out of the store cupboard, let me know if you have questions."
Once they had assembled their ingredients, Warren, Wilbur, and Kendra started by cutting up their ginger root and discussing further plans. Warren used his new silver knife, and was pleased with how well it worked as he methodically cut small even pieces.
"Fuzzy said that you guys also got some books to research from, are they any you can loan me so that I can do that whenever a spare moment pops up?" Kendra asked, slicing her ginger roots just as carefully, but she was doing hers lengthwise, and cleaning her knife after every cut. She placed each slice at the corner of her work area, wiping off the cutting area each time as well. She then slid her sliced roots into her palm, and dropped them slowly one at a time into her cauldron. She then wiped her hands clean.
"I do have an interesting book on the architecture of the castle, although I imagine it's limited in it's information on the castle, since it changes from time to time, and since it was built over 1,000 years ago," Warren said. He rummaged through his bag until he found the slim book and passed it over to Kendra.
"That's great, it should be interesting to see what it does have to say, though," she said. She had pulled out a handsome mortar and pestle and set of brass scales, and began crushing scarab beetles, measuring them out onto the scales, and dropping handfuls into her cauldron, cleaning her hands each time.
Warren had started with the armadillo bile, having found it does better to simmer awhile, then added his ginger, and turned to the scarabs.
"We really have a wealth of resources, it will really just be a matter of sifting through it all to the important stuff, and recording our findings," Warren said.
"I think this is fascinating," Kendra said. "It's like a giant mystery just waiting to be uncovered. I was so excited when Fuzzy told me about the passageway he found, even if it did just lead to a broom cupboard. I think we'll uncover some amazing things."
"Why is that?" Warren asked.
"Well, it's a matter of making the effort and researching. Research is key when dealing with an institution this old. So many lifetimes have started and ended since this school started, there's things that may have been noticed this year that were already noticed 500 years ago, but no one was alive to remember, and no one thought to look it up. There may be patterns no one noticed because they happened over the course of many lifespans, secrets lost to the ages that someone written down but no one thought to look for. Yes, I think you started a very exciting project."
Warren was pleased to have found someone else to share in his enthusiasm. He could tell Kendra was going to be a great addition to the team, and that nothing was going to slow her down. They all added their Jobberknoll feathers to their potion last, and watched as they sunk down into the brew. They're potions turned a light blue.
Professor Hooper toured the classroom, looking into everyone's cauldrons and assessing their results. When he was finished, he went to the front of the class.
"The two best potions in the class for today would be Mr. Bones and Ms. Kettleburn," Professor Hooper announced. "They're going to be the ones to catch up to this year, I'd wager. But one of those potions is slightly better than the other...."
Both Warren and Kendra held their breath while waiting to hear which one was the best. Professor Hooper looked over at them and smiled at their nervous anticipation.
"I have to say, by only a slim margin, that Mr. Bones has prepared the best potion," Professor Hooper said. "That's another five points to Ravenclaw you've earned, Mr. Bones. However, I'd keep an eye on Ms. Kettleburn, she'll be a force to be reckoned with."
Warren quietly agreed.
The Astronomy Tower by Moon110581
Chapter Notes: After arriving at school, the boys start their first day, and Warren meets Kendra Kettleburn.