Albus looked around the dormitory, dimly lit by the moon shining through a small slit window by Matthew Jenning’s bed. Albus sat up, aware of his heart beating faster than usual in his chest. He could hardly contain his excitement. He had been at Hogwarts not even twelve hours, yet he felt as though he had lived here his whole life. He had never quite understood the affection with which his parents’ generation, even his older brother and cousins, spoke of Hogwarts. It seemed family get-togethers always included long reminiscences of their days at Hogwarts, whether his father was recalling Quidditch successes or Aunt Hermione was praising the school library as “the finest wizarding library in all of Europe”. When his elder brother James had left for Hogwarts last year, occasionally sending home short letters to update his parents on the goings-on at the school, Albus was puzzled as to why James seemed to experience no home-sickness whatsoever. Even when he returned home for the summer, James appeared more interested in counting down the days to his return. Now, without having even attended a single class, Albus understood.
Albus sank back down into his bed, forcing his eyes shut in an attempt to go back to sleep; He felt he ought to be well-rested for his first day of classes. Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about his seven years to come at Hogwarts. Albus didn’t necessarily dislike the schooling he had gone through alongside his siblings back home in Godric’s Hollow, taught by his mother and supplemented by both Muggle and wizarding textbooks. Yet he had never truly been an avid reader or particularly passionate about any subject. After years of basic math and geography, Albus was itching to learn the magical feats his parents and other adults performed with ease. After a few more minutes of tossing and turning, flipping his pillow over multiple times and fluffing up the duvet to no avail, Albus acknowledged falling back asleep was not a possibility.
In the bed to his right was a sleeping Philippe Leroy, the son of French-born Aurors who worked with Albus’ father. Albus had met Philippe a few times when the Leroys had come over for dinner; He was a big boy: athletic, and could easily pass for a third or fourth-year with his height, but he was friendly and Albus was glad he had been placed in Gryffindor as well.
Next to Philippe was Matthew Jennings, a Muggle-born from Wales whose eyes widened as he observed new magical occurrences around the castle; Albus could hardly contain his laughter when Matthew squealed at the sight of the replenishing food in the Great Hall.
On Albus’ left was Julian Wood, a small, quiet boy Albus’ father had pointed out as the son of Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team in his day. Julian seemed nice enough, but given the tales of Oliver’s absolute obsession with the sport and sometimes tactless, though well-meaning, methods of training his players, Albus was surprised by Julian’s apparent shyness.
Albus, physically tired yet somehow bursting with nervous excitement, could hardly wait to throw on his robes and attend his first class. All first-years were called to a nine o’clock meeting in the Common Room, where school rules would be further discussed. Judging by the sky outside the window, Albus estimated he had well over five hours to wait. He heard a stirring across the room, and then an exasperated sigh.
“Philippe?” Albus whispered.
“Yeah. Is that you, Albus?” he replied.
“Yeah. Can’t sleep.”
“Me neither. Hey, let’s go explore.”
“Uh. I don’t know, Philippe. I mean, we haven’t been here very long. We could get lost. Or we could get in trouble. I think we’d better wait.”
“Come on, Albus. That’s the whole point. It’s our first day, so they aren’t going to be too mad at us if they catch us. Anyway, it’s nearly dawn. I doubt anyone’s patrolling the halls now.”
The argument was convincing. Albus slipped into his sneakers, impressing. himself with his ability to tie his shoes in the near pitch-black room, and met Philippe at the door.
“What are we going to say if they catch us?” Albus asked, still worried. He couldn’t help but think that his parents, if not the teachers, would be upset with him if they found out.
Philippe ignored him, slowly opening the creaky door that led to the spiral stairs. “Careful,” he said, as Albus delicately closed the door behind them. The two tip-toed down to the Common Room, which appeared much larger now that it was emptied of chattering students.
“Where are we going to go?” asked Albus, now worrying that this decision may not have been the wisest. What was the purpose in this anyway? He would get to see the castle in daylight in just a few hours. “Listen, I-“
“Let’s go check out the dungeon, you know, where the Slytherins live,” Philippe interrupted. Albus was glad the castle was so dark at night; He didn’t want Philippe to see the fear on his face.
“Listen, let’s just go back,” Albus whispered after Philippe accidentally extinguished their sole candle. The two were meandering down the hall on the second floor, trying to find the staircase that would most efficiently lead them to the dungeon. The school was confusing at best, and nearly un-navigable in the dark.
“Don’t be scared,” said Philippe calmly.
“Shhh,” Albus whispered, his voice wavering.
“Ahem.” The two boys, startled, turned around. A kindly-looking blonde man stood before them with a knowing smile.
“Nev-I mean Professor Long-“ started Albus.
“Hello Albus. You are?” Neville Longbottom turned to Philippe.
“Uh, Philippe. Leroy, sir” he responded sheepishly. Albus was amused by Philippe’s apparent fear.
“Nice to meet you, though I would rather our first introduction be in class, not at four in the morning. I thought you’d be a little wiser, Albus.”
“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know what we were-“
“Listen, I understand. You’re excited. It’s your first day. But please know that rules are rules, and as you know in your brother James’ case, a famous family name won’t prevent you from getting in trouble,” the teacher said kindly, though Albus couldn’t help but be disappointed.
He gulped. That was truly one of his biggest fears, that he would be treated differently simply because of his father’s fame and achievements. Albus took great pride in his father’s defeat of Voldemort, but while James seemed to enjoy the attention his last name brought, Albus wasn’t comfortable with the second glances and whispering that followed him everywhere he went. Longbottom must have noticed Albus’ dejected expression.
“I don’t mean to ruin your first day, or first night, rather. Albus, your family has been a great friend to me, and we’ve known each other for a long time. But please keep in mind that I can’t cover for you here at Hogwarts. Just be grateful it’s only the first night, and that it was me, not Professor McGonagall, who caught you two. Trust me, you’d both have a week’s worth of detentions if it were up to her,” the teacher said with a smile. He put his hand on Albus’ shoulder and shook him a little, perhaps hoping a little shake would help him come to his senses.
“Back to bed. I’ll walk you two to the tower.” Albus, relieved and comforted by Longbottom’s kindness, walked alongside the teacher and the still visibly-shaken Philippe.
The trek back seemed much shorter than the search for the dungeon. Only five or so minutes later, the three arrived at the Portrait of the Fat Lady.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know the password. My days as a Gryffindor student are long gone. Not that I had a knack for remembering them in the first place,” Longbottom said with a smile. Albus chuckled, having heard stories from his father of Longbottom’s impressive forgetfulness.
“Aloe vera,” said Philippe timidly.
The painting swung open, Albus thanked the Professor, and the two boys headed back to their room. By now, it was partially illuminated by the rising sun. Matthew and Julian were still asleep, but Albus decided not to bother getting back in bed. He and Philippe sat on the floor by the head of Albus’ bed.
“I told you we’d get in trouble,” Albus said quietly, smiling. Philippe rolled his eyes and gave him a joking punch on the shoulder. Albus laughed, causing Matthew to stir in his bed. The two sat in near silence for the next two hours or so while flipping through the extra-large September issue of Quidditch Illustrated, hoping not to wake the others.
“Didn’t your dad have an Invisibility Cloak or something?” Philippe asked as the two admired an advertisement for the Nimbus 2400 Platinum Edition. Albus hesitated before answering. Why did people always assume that he’d follow right in his father’s footsteps, or that his dad was somehow different from any other parent?
“Yeah. Why?” Albus replied, though he already knew the answer.
“Well, I mean if we had it, we could sneak out whenever,” Philippe responded timidly.
“First of all, I don’t have it. Neither does James. I don’t even know where it is. My dad just showed it to us a few times when were little, but I’m pretty sure he uses it at work now. And anyway, why would we need to sneak out anymore? Especially since we just got caught.”
“Yeah, I guess. It just seems fun. And aren’t you kind of curious about, you know, the Slytherins?” Philippe asked.
“Why?"
"Because-well-with all the stuff happening at the Ministry...It's always the Slytherins behind it all"
“Not all Slytherins are bad, you know. And honestly, I want to stay out of all that. Let’s just let the Ministry deal with it,” Albus said.
“Yeah, whatever. Trust me, I’m not suggesting we take the guy down ourselves. They don't even know who did it. We can leave the dirty work to our parents. I’m pretty sure they’re experienced in the matter.”
Albus smiled and the two boys turned around as Matthew began waking up with a not so tactful, extremely loud yawn. Seconds later, Julian had also awoken.
“Bloody hell. You’re already awake?” Matthew said to Albus and Philippe.
“Yup,” Albus replied.
“You’re up early. It’s only five thirty!” said Matthew, looking at his watch on his bedside table
“Nah, your watch must be broken. It’s already 7” said Philippe.
“Blimey, I guess it’s good I found that out before classes start. God, I still can’t believe this is all real. You know I dreamed last night that this whole thing was all a dream!” said Matthew.
Albus smiled as he rummaged through his trunk for his uniform robes. His first real day at Hogwarts had begun.