MCYT RANDOMNESS 2

Canary magic

It was a regular day in the summer holidays. Jimmy Solidarity was 11 and, according to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a wizard. He read the letter they'd sent multiple times, still as confused as his parents were as to both how he has magic and where he would acquire wizarding equipment, or if anyone else he knew was also a wizard. So, he did the only thing he could and messaged his friends.

Hey Bad Boys just got this. either of you know what it is?

A few minutes later, Joel and Grian sent back matching pictures of letters. And Grian dropped his own bombshell:

 Tim, I TOLD you I was a wizard! >:/

Somewhat awkward but somewhat relieved, Jimmy replied, asking about broomsticks and frogs and similar. They met at 'The Leaky Cauldron', buying a whole collection of stuff from their lists with wizard money. Jimmy had enough to buy himself a cat too - Big Man Norman - before they agreed to meet at King's Cross again on the 1st of September.

So they did. Jimmy's heart raced as he stood on platform 9 3/4, holding his bags, standing with Grian, Joel and Grian's parents, who were apparently both magical as well. All around him, students ran and chatted, catching up after the long summer before boarding the Hogwarts Express appeared. With a final goodbye and thanks to Grian's parents, Jimmy ran after his friends onto the train, finding only one almost empty carriage.

'Hey, are these seats free?' Grian asked. The pair of students too confident to be 1st years but too small to be anything except second years nodded.

'Of course! Of course! Sit down!' the one with brown hair replies. 'Don't mind me, I don't bite. Though... Cub might.'

'What?' I stop.

'It's a joke.' says the other with dark hair, already in his school robes, making room next to him. I'm still not entirely sure - I don't know wizarding traditions - and sit next to the brunette instead. 'I'm Cub, this is my friend Scar. You're first years, right?' We all nod. Big Man Norman chooses this moment to appear, meowing from the table. Scar gasps, stroking him.

'What houses do you think you'll be in?' Cub asks. 'I'm Ravenclaw, Scar's Hufflepuff.'

'I'm Gryffindor,' Joel decides (Grian explained the houses to us before). 'Brave, strong? Yes please.'

'I don't know... I don't think I'm smart enough to be Ravenclaw.' I ponder.

'Well, if you're in Hufflepuff, you can hang out with me in the common room! And Impulse and Skizz, they're lovely.' Conversation continues all the way there. Scar buys us all wizard sweets, telling us stories of the shenanigans he and Cub got into last year, and that he and Cub are half-blood wizards. At end of the journey, we change into our robes before me, Grian and Joel have to separate from Cub and Scar, taking boats to the castle.

It isn't too long until me, Grian, Joel and the other first years are lining up for the Sorting. I scan the crowd of witches and wizards for Cub and Scar as I wait for my name to be called. And, after 'Lizzie Shadowlady' is sorted into Hufflepuff, Professor Cleo calls...

'Joel Smallishbeans!' He walks confidently over, given the sorting hat and waiting for a decision.

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

Joel punches the air, running off to the Hufflepuff table. I'm sure I'll be next, already heading over as Cleo calls my name. The hat's placed on my head.

'HUFFLEPUFF!' it shouts almost instantly. I smile with relief, joining where Joel's found Scar again.

'Congratulations! Welcome to Hufflepuff! He beams. I cross my fingers for Grian joining us too, but as he dons the sorting hat, following Tango Tek in Ravenclaw, he's put in Slytherin. We eat, the headmaster Xisuma explains basic rules, and we head for our first night in Hogwarts.

'I expect all of you to listen in my classes... Potions is a difficult subject that becomes dangerous if you choose to mess around...' Professor Doc drones at the start of our first potions class with the Ravenclaws. 'Now, today you'll be working in pairs on the first recipe in our potion books and seeing how competent you are. You have until the end of the lesson. Good luck.

I grimace at Joel as I read the precision of the recipe. Half an hour later, we have a gloopy mess and, messing up while cutting one of the ingredients, realise we don't have another.

'Uhh... Excuse me, do you have any mandrake leaves?' I turn to the pair of Ravenclaws behind me.

'Yeah, how many do you need?' the one with bright gold hair replies. I pause.

'3?'

He gives them over.

'You're...'

'Thankful?' I reply. 'Thanks?'

'No, no, what's your name? I'm Tango.'

'Jimmy.'

'No talking!' Doc snaps. Me and Tango return to our potions. 'Especially not if your potion looks like that.'

I turn pink as Doc lets the grey gloop me and Joel created slop back into the cauldron.

'Sorry sir.' I mumble. He swishes away disapproving to let us continue.

By the end of the lesson, our potion is still atrocious, so much so that Doc tells us to find different partners for next time. I'm still embarrassed leaving the classroom, until someone speaks to me.

'Hey, sorry about that. I should've known Doc would be strict,' the Ravenclaw Tango apologises.

'Oh, no, don't worry. I shouldn't have asked you. It didn't help our potion anyway.'

'It's hard. That's what my sister False always said.'

'You're...'

'From a wizarding family? Yeah. Cub told me you were muggle-born... what's it like? Zed's told me some stuff, but I don't believe him.'

'I... don't know. We... do normal stuff?'

'Like... he told me you have these... eclecitrificating skiddoodle... thing. Like... you put them on your head... like earmuffs, but they MAKE noise?'

'...Headphones?' I guess, confused.

'They're REAL?! I thought he was joking!'

'Yeah? All norm- I mean- muggles... know about them...'

'Are they? How do they skidoodle the sounds to your ears? Without magic?'

'Electricity? I don't know... I think my friend Joel's waving at me but... do you want to talk more in the library? After lunch?'

'Yeah! Yeah, that sounds great! I'll see you there, Jimmy.'

'See you there, Tango.'

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