I was gasping at the magnificence of the Hogwarts Stairways. I’ve heard of them before but never had I imagine they’d look like this. Our Prefect was leading us along. Apparently, she knew every step of the way since she warned us each time the staircases were moving. All of that confused me a bit. Hopefully, I’ll learn to navigate them soon enough. Until then, it’s best to follow someone who’s experienced.

Various portraits greeted us along the way. Some of them were quite friendly, while others simply nodded as we passed. What kind of magic was involved in creating those, I wondered…

Soon enough, we arrived at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Our Prefect led us straight to the Common Room. It had quite the cozy atmosphere, so cozy that I immediately felt at home. The Prefect showed us our dormitories. Luckily, Rowan and I were placed in the same dorm.

The view from up here was pretty amazing. I could easily see the castle grounds. It was a beautiful sight, especially during the night. Hogwarts lights together with the moonlight made it extraordinarily magical. It gave me quite the chills since it was the first time I ever observed something from this height, but nevertheless, it was impressive.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it? Even better than I imagined…” Rowan’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“It really is amazing,” I replied, “I can’t wait to meet our fellow Gryffindors!”

“I can’t believe they even let you in here after your brother got expelled, and ruined Gryffindor’s reputation,” said one of the student’s. Judging by his looks, he is likely in his third or fourth-year. Apparently, he overheard our conversation and recognized me somehow. I guess the rumors are quick to travel around Hogwarts…

“Dylan will be an outstanding Gryffindor. I’m assuming you aren’t, since you spend your time bullying first-years,” Rowan jumped to my defense without hesitation.

“Whatever. I’ll be keeping an eye on both of you,” the student replied as he backed away.

“Sorry. I know you asked me to follow your lead back in Diagon Alley, but I can’t let anyone talk to my friend like that,” he said. To be fair, I was quite glad he stepped in. Who knows how many students will despise me because of Jacob… I guess mum was right to be concerned… At least I got a friend who’s ready to stand up for me. It appears that listening to his History lessons is slowly paying off.

“Thanks, Rowan,” I kindly replied. “Something tells me that won’t be the last time someone brings up my brother.”

I’m curious how many students know who I am. I was too nervous to look at their reactions during the Sorting Ceremony when I was called out. I guess I’ll find out eventually.

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“Have you had a chance to look at your timetable?” I quickly changed the subject.

“Yes! Can you believe it? Herbology with Professor Sprout, Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall…” Rowan answered, full of excitement.

“What are you most looking forward to, Dylan?” He asked me.

“I just want to learn spells and potions as fast as possible, so I can use them to find my brother, and make sure he’s ok,” I replied honestly. I didn’t want to keep secrets from Rowan, I have a feeling I could trust him. Besides, he might be able to help me.

“Luckily, we have Charms Class with Professor Flitwick first thing tomorrow!”

Soon after, we went to our dormitory. I organized my things neatly and made sure that everything is there. Mum even packed an old picture from one of our Christmas celebrations. All four of us were on it. We looked so happy… I guess the things changed a lot since then. I glared a bit at the picture before I placed it on the drawer near my bed and went to sleep. Sadly, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t fall asleep. Too many things were on my mind… Also, the moonlight was shining upon one of the windows in my dorm. It was so mesmerizing to look at, so distracting… I guess I could use that distraction to stop thinking about worries and problems. It didn’t take long until I was finally able to clear my mind and sink into the dream world.

“Dylan, wake up!” I heard a familiar voice. “Come on, we don’t want to be late for our first class!”

I reluctantly opened my eyes, still trying to remain in the comfort of my bed. The sun was shining brightly, illuminating our dormitory in an unusually nice way. I looked around and noticed that Rowan is already dressed up, holding a pile of books in his hands. Judging by the size of it, I assumed he is expecting to learn at least ten different Charms today.

“What time is it?” I asked him.

“It’s time for our Charms lesson, hurry and dress up!” He demanded.

I quickly got myself ready and ran into the Common Room. Apparently, students were getting prepared to leave. Rowan was anxiously awaiting me near the entrance of our dormitory.

“It was about time! We’ll be leaving shortly for the classroom.”

I had a feeling that several eyes were gazing upon me as I entered the Common Room. I tried to ignore it, but I knew that many of my housemates were whispering about me as I was approaching Rowan.

“Pay no attention to them, Dylan,” he said once he realized my concerns. “If anyone dares to bad-mouth you, I’ll show them!”

“Thanks, Rowan, but I don’t really think it’ll be necessary,” I replied and kindly smiled at him.

“First-years, follow me!” We heard the voice of our Prefect.

We followed her, once again, and went to the Charms corridor on the third floor. Once we got there, I took a good look of the classroom. It had plenty of space to accommodate all the students and there were several windows, which allowed the sunlight to illuminate the room nicely.

There were a lot of books surrounding the teacher’s table, and on a top of one of those, I noticed an elegantly dressed, tiny man, smiling at new students, greeting each of them as they entered the classroom.

“Pleased to meet you, Professor Flitwick. I’m really looking forward to Charms,” I took my turn introducing myself to the teacher.

“You’re Mr. Edwards!” He replied with a squeaky voice. “If you’re anything like your brother, you will do just fine. He was one of my most skilled students.”

“That being said, he was also one of my most rebellious students…” He added.

“Are you going to follow the rules?” He then asked me, curious to see if I intend to follow Jacob’s footsteps.

“I’m only here to learn, Professor. I don’t want to start any trouble,” I honestly answered. I wasn’t quite sure if I’ll be able to keep that promise since I cannot say if any trouble will come looking for me.

“Very well, Mr. Edwards,” he said with a calm tone, apparently satisfied with my answer. “Please have a seat. Class is about to begin.”

Once I took my seat, he addressed the entire class. “Please pay close attention to the instructions, and take great care practicing the spells you learn. Today we will be learning a very important spell known as the Wand-Lighting Charm.”

He then waved his wand and said the magic word, “Lumos!” The tip of his wand started glowing with a bright light.

He took his time to demonstrate the proper wand movement needed for this spell. He was very patient with us. Apparently, he wanted each student to understand the correct way of casting the spell. And his lecturing was quite fun, to be honest. On several occasions, he made some witty remarks and used some lighthearted jokes to make the lesson more interesting. And frankly, he did so with great success. Not long after his initial lecture, I managed to cast the Wand-Lighting Charm with ease. The Professor was quite pleased with my performance.

“Well done, Mr. Edwards,” he said with a huge smile. “That’s the best execution of the Wand-Lighting Charm I’ve seen from a first-year in quite some time. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

Ten House Points! I thought to myself. Now that’s a nice way to start my first-year. Hopefully, the other students won’t give me weird looks anymore. I took a quick look at Rowan. Apparently, he was paying more attention to his books than to Professor. He was waving his wand, but for some reason, his spell just didn’t work. Finally, after several failed attempts, he managed to get it right.

“Nice work, Dylan!” He praised me for earning ten House Points. “I read everything I could find on the Wand-Lighting Charm, and yours was still better. You’re a natural.”

Oh, Rowan. If you only paid a bit more attention to the Professor instead of staring at those books, you would’ve done it far easier, I thought.

“Potions is next,” I remembered. “I have a feeling facing Snape won’t be so easy…”

I am curious if I’ll manage to do well in Potions too. Luckily, I paid close attention to Professor Flitwick and his teaching was easy to understand, but will the Potions Master be as patient as the Charms Professor? I am eager to find out.

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