home (reader at hogwarts)

four

you skip alongside dumbeldore as you make your way to the kitchens.

albus gives you a smile before taking you through the entrance hall and you stop walking as you stare up at it.

the school year hasn't begun, so the enchanted sky isn't there yet and all the floating candles are unlit.

you look around you at the four empty tables in awe and feel tears brimming in your eyes.

this is the world you would escape to in your dreams. the world you had read about and longed for so long to be a part of and for some odd reason all your dreams had come true.

you were in hogwarts and you had no idea how or why.

"are you alright, y/n?"

you smile through teary eyes, deciding it was better to live in the moment then to question why you were there.

"never been better."

you catch up to albus and take his hand, the pair of you opening a door and taking a dark stairway down to a little corridor.

the corridor is lined with portraits and albus leads you to the one right at the end.

you smile. "it smells nice in here."

"indeed." dumbeldore agrees. he looks down at you hesitantly.

"you don't know how to-" he starts and you turn back to the wall.

you stare at the portrait, thinking hard.
you grin as you spot a pear in a bowl of fruit in the portrait. you get on to your tiptoes and tickle the pear.

"open up you," you giggle and it wriggles in the canvas, ripple like movements radiating in the canvas around the pear.

dumbeldore chuckles in suprise as the portrait door swings open with a click.

"merlin." he smiles, a silly look in his face. "did you memorize those books?"

you shrug and step in as he steps in after you.

"woah." you gasp audibly as you spot about 20 house elves mixing batter in bowls and peering their huge heads into hot burning furnaces.

"headmaster," said the one at the front, bowing it's head. "will headmaster and his friend have anything?"

you look up at dumbeldore, hopefully and he nods down at you.

the house elf looks to you and it's violet eyes widen as it bows to you. "the house elf gretchen is at your service- as are the rest of the elves in the kitchen."

you smile, looking back at a few more elves in the back who look up from their work for a second to smile and nod at you.

"i'm y/n, it's great to meet you." you greet.

"what will miss y/n have?" asks gretchen, taking your hand and helping you settle at a small table.

you glance at dumbledore as he sits opposite.

"what- what would you recommend, sir?" you ask him.

albus turns to the house elf with a small smile. "we'll have samples of the beginning of term feast, please."

the house elf nods, backing away and scurrying to the other house elves with our orders.

"you heard the headmaster!" you hear gretchen yell over the heads.

the house elves get to work and you occasionally catch some bright eyes poking out to look at you as they prepare the food.

you smile, your heart melting at the hard work you saw before you. you let out a chuckle as you remember the 'spew' movement hermione had stirred up.

"what amuses you?"

you smile up at dumbeldore and open your mouth to speak before retracting and biting your lip, nervously.

"well, it happens later in the books. a student here, a clever one, starts a movement to help elves to uh-"

you glance back at them as they scurry to put down sweet and savoury smelling dishes out on the table infornt of you.

"to?" asks dumbelore, raising an eyebrow.

"free them." you whisper.

dumbledore's eyes widened. "well, i can't imagine that went well."

"it didn't." you hesitate, thinking. "it won't."

albus takes a deep breath before taking your small hand across the table and leaning forward.

"listen, y/n." you look at him and catch his very serious stare. "i think it would be best if, for now at least, you keep what happens in the future to yourself."

you nod.

"there will be a time." dumbeldore continues. "where i may ask for information from you but there are many things we'll need to do before that time arrives."

"things?" you ask.

"we need to find out why you're here, what those books were, whether or not you yourself are capable of magic and what you can do to help. if, of course- you will help."

you nod again. "i will. even when i lived with my parents, i never felt at home. the only place i ever felt i belonged was when i was reading those books."

he doesn't answer, blinking at you for a few seconds before he snaps back to reality, whatever reality you were in, and looks to the food.

"oh," he sighs. "doesn't this smell marvelous?"

you look down to see the most food you have ever seen in your life. your meals in the basement only consisted of porridge and left over stew and occasionally a sandwich.

beneath your nose the enticing smell of potatoes and gravy, pies and meat layed out for you in small plates for you to try.

you smile as you spot a small silver player with some kind of pudding on it, and it jiggles as dumbledore reaches for a goblet and pours, from the tip of his wand, a whiteish pink liquid.

your eyes glimmer as you recognise the wand.

"that's the elder wand." you blurt out.

"sorry!" you squeak, remembering that only a few seconds ago, dumbledore was telling you to keep your knowledge to yourself.

"that's quite alright," he chuckles. "and yes, yes it is."

you smile nervously at the food, twirling a fork in your hand.

"well then, why don't we dig in?"