❝ sanctuary: a word which in here means 'a small, safe place in a troubling world. ❞ — A Series of Unfortunate Events

The horseless carriages dropped us just at the entrance of the castle, where Filch opened the great oak doors for the students to enter. So Filch was still at Hogwarts, and so was Mrs Norris, it seemed. He didn't look much different from the movies though, only a little older due to the passing years.

We finally entered the castle. The Entrance Hall was huge and I couldn't help but gawk at the numerous moving portraits and paintings that hung all over the marble walls. We were led into the Great Hall, and as soon as I stepped in, a waft of warm air enveloped me like a blanket.

The Great Hall was simply entrancing. There were four long tables lined up in the center, each one belonging to one of the four houses with the house flag that hung magically above them. In the very front, horizontally, stood the teachers' table. 

A man with shaggy orange-colored hair and a serious expression dressed in shiny robes was sitting right in the middle of the table. I presumed he was the headmaster. Though the spot next to him was empty. Where was Breeze?

I got the answer very quickly, because a mass of students burst into the hall from a back door, all of them first years, associated by Breeze herself. She led them towards a wooden stool where the Sorting Hat was resting, all worn and shabby looking.

A rush of excitement mixed with tension traveled through my body. Suddenly, I had the familiar feeling I got each time I was nervous, like a thousand tiny butterflies were stirring in my stomach.

Before the Sorting Ceremony began, the headmaster stood up from his table and walked towards the owl-shaped brass podium. Everybody rushed to their seats and I suddenly lost sight of Sibi and Michael.

   A feeling of confusion started building in, soon to be replaced by sheer panic. Where was I supposed to go? What was I supposed to do? Definitely not stand there like an idiot and make myself the center of everybody's attention.

Before I could put much thought into it, the headmaster started speaking and all gazes shifted to him. All of a sudden, I felt a strong hand clutch my left arm. I resisted the urge to gasp in shock as I felt myself being dragged out of the door of the Great Hall by none other than Argus Filch.

"You. With me," he muttered in annoyance. He sounded as if somebody had forced him to do this against his will, but that was probably the truth after all.

   If only I knew what was going on. I attempted to ask once, but all I got in response was some sort of unintelligible grumble. He finally stopped once we reached the gargoyle statue that led to the Headmaster's office. After Filch muttered the password, the statue moved aside to reveal a flight of moving stairs that we climbed to arrive at the Headmaster's office.

"Alright, you're going to wait here until deputy headmistress McBon comes, understood?" he said, kind of impatiently.

"Why was I brought here?" I asked, taking an observing look around.

"Headmaster Dashawn's orders. My duty was to bring you here, not explain why," Filch snarled before walking out of the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

I let out a sigh, taking a long look around. Being the Harry Potter geek I was, I was able to tell the differences in the headmaster's office now from how it looked during Dumbledore's time. The spindle-legged tables were no longer occupied by the curious silver instruments that Dumbledore liked collecting. Instead, they were filled with teapots of all sizes and colors decorated by floral patterns. On the corner, a kettle was emitting steam from a muggle portable gas stove, filling the room with the delicious scent of rose tea.

Headmaster Dashawn's private library that was right behind his desk and could be accessed by staircases on both sides held an impressive collection of books, all of them well-organized and sorted out by color. I approached his desk curiously. The surface was sparkling clean. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses were placed on top of a copy of the Evening Prophet, an empty teacup next to them. There was a glassy bowl filled with clove buds and another smaller one full of peppermint leaves.

"Polly!"

I jumped up in surprise at the sound of the voice, instantly whirling around to face headmaster Dashawn who had just entered the office, followed by Breeze.

"So we meet," the old man spoke, approaching me with a warm smile. He stuck out his hand and I took it, smiling back at him. He shook it a bit too firmly for my liking as his hand was twice the size of mine. "I am the headmaster of Hogwarts, Boden Dashawn. My colleague, professor McBon, has told me so much about you. Welcome to Hogwarts! It's great to finally have you here."

"It's great to be here," I said. "Nice to meet you, professor. I am—"

"Polly Annabelle Kin, correct?" he interrupted, making a supposedly thinking face, even though I knew he was fully aware of who I was. When I nodded, he grinned, flicking his index finger as if a genius idea had just popped into his head. "Aha! Knew it! Welcome Polly, welcome. You are now about to be sorted. We decided it would be best for all of us if this was to be done in private. How do you feel about that?"

"Thank you. Honestly, it's the best thing I could've hoped for," I replied genuinely.

It's not like identifying a fifteen-year-older in a crowd full of eleven-year-old kids was a hard thing to do. It would definitely raise lots of questions and attract even more unsolicited attention.

"My point exactly," headmaster Dashawn said brightly. "Ah, before we get down to business, would you like a cup of tea?"

"Uh, no thank you," I responded shyly.

"Aw, what do you mean 'no'? Tell me a better way to start the welcoming feast than have a cup of warm rose tea. Wouldn't you agree, Breeze?"

"Tea is certainly always a good idea," Breeze agreed, smiling awkwardly as she fiddled with the red-and-green ribbons on her left wrist.

"Exactly," said headmaster Dashawn.

He strolled gracefully over to the table where the scent was being emitted from. With a swish of his wand, the kettle levitated from the muggle gas stove. Another swish and a teacup came floating in the air toward him from one of the cupboards, and the steaming tea from the kettle was magically poured into it.

"Sugar?"

"Yes, please," I answered.

Once my tea was ready, he placed a golden-colored teaspoon inside my cup before handing it to me.

"Thank you, sir."

"You're very welcome."

I blew onto the surface of the tea before taking a sip. As the hot liquid warmed the back of my throat, I was fully aware of the headmaster's steady gaze on my face, and I met his kind eyes. He offered me another smile.

   "I've heard from professor McBon that you've already made some friends, Polly, yes?" he asked.

   I swallowed. "I have, yes."

   "I'm glad to hear that. That will help you a lot, y'know?"

   I nodded, smiling as I sipped whatever was left of my tea. How did I finish it so quickly? The rose tea was so delicious I hadn't taken notice of how quickly I'd gulped it down.

   "Thank you for the tea, sir." I handed him back the empty teacup. "It was nice."

   "Knew you'd like it," he beamed. "Are you feeling less nervous now?"

    "Yeah, I— I am, thanks."

   "I guess it's about time to be sorted then," Breeze spoke, stepping closer.

   We made eye contact for a brief moment and it warmed my heart to see her give me a big smile instead one of her usual faint, ghosty ones. I smiled back just as broadly as she placed the Sorting Hat on top of my head, trying not to focus on my slowly increasing heartbeats.

   I bit my lower lip, the feeling of butterflies in my stomach returning.

   Oh lord!

   Soon enough, my ears were filled with the low tired voice of the talking hat, which was probably reading my mind at the moment.

   "Aha, one of you again . . ." the hat spoke slowly. "I usually know what to do with you, but this time . . . You're different. Unique. You're candid, naïve. You're intelligent, but definitely not bright enough to be a Ravenclaw. I see cunningness. You are resourceful, yes . . . But not ambitious enough to be a Slytherin. All this laziness, it's something you'd better get rid of one day, Polly Kin . . . And you're loyal, very loyal. I can see kindness and generosity. Should I put you in Hufflepuff?"

   The hat was silent for a few minutes. I felt my whole body tense, become rigid. The only muscle moving fast was my racing heart.

   "You'd do good in Hufflepuff," said the hat thoughtfully. "But this recklessness of yours . . . You're too daring, too brave. Hard decision . . . You're a conflicted contradiction, my dear. Where should I put you, where? Hm . . . Oh, I guess I know it. I'm sure you'd do better in . . . GRYFFINDOR!"

   It took me a second to process the news. I was in Gryffindor . . . I was in freaking Gryffindor! I hopped off of the stool jubilantly, grinning to myself like a maniac.

   "Well done, dear," headmaster Dashawn said as Breeze took the hat from my head. "Welcome to the Gryffindor house. I think you'd be pleased to know that our lovely professor McBon is the Head of the house."

   "Really?" I exclaimed, turning to Breeze wide-eyed. She nodded, offering me another smile as her cheeks became rose-tinted.

   "I believe you might want to return to the Great Hall and join your friends in the Gryffindor table for the Welcoming banquet," she said. "However, you're free to go to your dormitory if you'd like. I can escort you to the Gryffindor Tower and show you the password. There's some food and drinks in the common room you can snack on."

   "Thank you, Breeze, but I'd like to return to the banquet," I said.

   She inclined her head in a bow.

   "I hope you have a wonderful year and enjoy your stay at Hogwarts, Polly," said the headmaster, standing up from his chair. "I feel like we'll be seeing each-other again soon — hopefully not because of any rule-breaking, though, hm?"

   "Oh, certainly not, sir," I laughed sheepishly. "Thank you. Have a great evening!"

   "You too, dear." He shook my hand one last time before Breeze and I left his office.

   She led us back into the Great Hall, and since everybody else was too busy filling their stomachs with the delicious food that was now positioned on the tables, nobody really paid any attention to me. All in all, just about five heads were turned.

   I spotted Sibi on the Gryffindor table and took a seat next to her, opposite from Mike. As soon as I sat down, all eyes on the table suddenly landed on me. I could feel the heat spreading across my cheeks, so I tried hard not to meet anyone's gaze.

   "Polly, you're a Gryffindor! Congratulations,"  Sibi exclaimed joyfully.

   I gave her a smile and grabbed a glass of water nearby, taking a small sip.

   "Welcome to the Gryffindor house," came the voice of an older guy. I recognized him. He was the guy on the train with the Headboy badge who told Sibi to come to the Prefects' compartment. "I'm the school Headboy — and former house Prefect, Henry Kei. Your name is?"

   "Polly," I replied, hesitant whether or not I should tell him my last name, but I was sure that if I didn't, I'd be asked about it afterwards. So I decided to say it and if somebody raised any doubt, I could simply say that it was a coincidence that I shared the same last name with a murderer. That was believable, after all.

   "Polly Kin," I finished.

   "Well, Polly Kin, I believe you've been studying in another wizarding school before coming to Hogwarts, right?" Henry Kei asked. "Judging from your accent, you must American. Have you been studying at Ilvermorny?"

   Well, no, but thank you for making the lying process easier for me.

   "Yeah," I lied in the most convincing voice possible. "But we moved to the UK for, um . . . family reasons."

   "I see. Well, once again, welcome," Henry replied with a thin smile.

   Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that almost everybody in the table had been listening attentively to me while I was talking about myself.

   Oh lord, people were staring! I started feeling as uncomfortable as that day in the library when I met Alex, whose eyes wouldn't leave me. I just wasn't used to all that attention. People never stared at me, never got intrigued by me. This feeling was completely a new and foreign one for me.

   Speaking of Alex, I hadn't realized that he'd been sitting on my right side the whole time. When my eyes met his silvery grey ones, I noticed that a small smile was hovering on his lips. Leaning closer, he whispered in my ear, "I told you you'd be a Gryffindor."

   I gave a light laugh.

   "You also told me you'd be glad if I did," I quipped.

   Alex pursed his lips in a smirk, studying my face for a second.

   "I am glad about it," he replied. "And I'm surprised that you actually remember what I said."

   Truth be told, I was surprised about it too. Sometimes I struggled to remember important information that people told me or things that I was supposed to keep in mind. Yet here I was now, clearly remembering the words of a guy from about a month ago.

   Geez, Polly. Your brain sometimes.

   I lifted my head and looked at Mike that was sitting opposite me, who offered me a small encouraging smile. However, I couldn't help but take notice of the facial expression of the girl by his side. She was petite, the front of her midnight black hair pinned up with a clip, her lips drooped downward in what seemed like vexation rather than sadness.

   She was already staring — glaring — at me. Or maybe her crystal blue eyes were only focused absently on my face, while something else was going on in her mind, which was the cause of her inexplicable anger. But as she met my gaze, the girl apparently snapped out of it and a broad smile sprawled across her face. I smiled back at her, a sense of recognition lighting up an invisible lightbulb above my head. 

   I knew her. Oh my god . . . how had I not seen it before? She was Rosalinda Moon. My neighbor back home in Newsbury Park. The girl who lived next to Rochelle and who'd surprised me by showing up in my house on my birthday, a surprise which had turned out unpleasant pretty quickly as she spent entire time hollering at her boyfriend via voice notes on her phone. Her boyfriend named Alex . . . Oh lord, could it really be?!

   "How do you know Alex?" asked Sibi all of a sudden, drawing my attention away from the Rosalinda and the shocking realization.

   "Oh, er — we met in Diagon Alley," I said, promptly deciding not to tell her that I had bumped into him that day at Flourish and Blott's when we were buying the textbooks.

   That night, I felt like I was some sort of superstar. Everybody would ask me questions about Ilvermorny, about my old life in the USA, about the distinction between the British wizards and witches and the American ones.

   Everyone's eyes were fixed intently on me and people were all ears, listening to my made-up previous life as if I was a grandma telling a bedtime story to a bunch of kids.

   Despite the fact that I was the center of attention in the Gryffindor table — which was something that caused me extreme discomfort — the banquet was actually quite entertaining. Talking to all those people was, in fact, fun. For the first time someone was showing genuine interest in me and although I'd just met them, they were already being way nicer to me than my old classmates had been to me throughout all of freshmen year in my muggle school.

   Plus, the food was extremely delicious. A variety of dishes were prepared with care and tenderness from the house-elves, one tastier than the next. All of the plates were beautifully decorated and the meal was luxurious and sumptuous, giving the impression you were in a first-class restaurant.

   I tried not to seem too greedy, so I didn't eat much. However, I tried all of the dishes placed on the table and none of them failed to impress me.

   After the banquet ended, we were led out of the Great Hall by Henry. As we walked up a flight of moving stairs, I was cautious not to trip over, although it was a little difficult — I was too distracted by the amazing paintings and portraits all over the walls.

   Once we finally reached the seventh floor, we came to an abrupt stop.

   "Password?" came a squeaky female voice.

   I removed my gaze from the portraits on the castle walls, focusing my attention to the one in front of me, which belonged to the Fat Lady.

   "Salve Iterum," Henry responded.

   We walked through the hole behind the painting, which led us to the Gryffindor common room. As I stepped inside, my jaw fell open in awe. The common room was circular and spacious, bathed in golden and scarlet colors. The walls were decorated with fiery red tapestries that depicted ancient witches and wizards, and a large brick fireplace dominated one wall. The room was full of squashy armchairs and tables and I noticed a bulletin board just next to a huge window, which looked out onto the grounds of Hogwarts.

   Two doors led off from the common room that opened to spiral staircases and I didn't even listen to Henry's dull explanation, for I already knew they were the entryways to the dormitories. Sibi and I waved at Mike goodnight as he and the rest of the boys parted ways with us.

Even Alex gave me a little wave, but the smirky smile on his lips and the cheeky wink he gave me before walking off irritated me enough to make me not return the gesture. I was assuming he and Rosalinda had broken up already since he was behaving so flirtatiously with another girl — case in point, me, even though interested was the last thing I was.

   The girl's dormitory was equipped with a centrally-located stove and the four poster beds were flanked by a set of windows and a night stand. I couldn't help but notice a pair of Gryffindor clothes and a badge with the house emblem positioned on a chair next to my bed, since I was the newbie.

   The windows looked out onto the Forbidden Forest, but the darkness sadly didn't allow me to catch a glimpse of the scenery outside. The jet black sky was so clear and cloudless that the silvery beam of moonlight seemed almost too bright.

   A sweet, delightful fragrance that reminded me of roses and lilies permeated the air and I breathed in deeply, enjoying the pleasant scent.

   "You smell it, right?" asked Sibi with a smile as she noticed me admiring the aroma. "It's Slumberous Flowery Potion. Our dorm room is perfumed with it every night to help us sleep better."

   Sleep. Exactly what I needed after such an eventful day. The coziness of the room, the sight of the cushy large bed waiting for me and the fragrant potion that filled the air were making my eyelids slowly close.

   "Who are our roommates?" I asked Sibi curiously.

   I was too busy admiring the sight of the girl's dormitory that I didn't even pay any attention to the girls we'd be sharing the room with.

   "Oh, right. I totally forgot. Silly me," Sibi said with a light laugh. It made me smile to myself because I was usually the forgetful one. "That one over there is Christine."

   I turned my head in the direction she was pointing at, my eyes falling upon a short girl, who was pounding a door angrily with her fists. The only detail about her appearance I could make out at the moment was her short-cropped brown hair and her somewhat muscular back, which gave the impression of a physically strong girl, despite her height being below average.

   "Rosa, hurry the bloody hell up! I seriously need to take a pee," the girl repined, continuing to pound the door with so much force I was afraid it might break down.

   No longer than two seconds later, the door of what clearly had to be the bathroom got unlocked, followed be a very audible sigh or relief. Rosalinda Moon walked out.

   "Thank goodness!" the short girl cried. "Geez, Rosa, did you fall asleep on top of the loo or something?"

   Loo? Was that the British version of 'restroom'? I barely suppressed a laugh. I had a lot to learn from the Brits.

   "Christine!" scolded Rosalinda, but the girl ignored her, entering the bathroom quickly and locking the door behind her.

   "And this one is Rosalinda," Sibi said quietly.

"Yeah, uh . . . we know each-other already," I responded awkwardly.

"Oh?" Sibi's eyes darted between the two of us in apparent shock.

   "Yup, we lived in the same neighborhood. Hey Polly," said Rosalinda with an unfazed look as we made eye contact. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"You didn't tell me you were a witch," I breathed.

"Well, I thought you were a muggle, so why on earth would I?" she laughed it off, plopping down on her bed. "Anyways, glad you're here. I bet it was hard leaving Rochelle though, wasn't it?"

   At the mention of Rochelle, a pang of guiltiness built up in my stomach. Oh, how I missed her and our long phone conversations! I should've told her about my decision before leaving. She had been the closest thing to a best friend I had had in my old life. Hell, she'd been like my sister!

   "I— well, it's not like we're never going to see each-other again, right? Besides, we'll keep in touch through letters," I responded quickly.

I didn't want to talk about the old chapter of my life now that I'd just started a brand new one here. Most importantly, I didn't want to get all sad thinking about Roche when I was supposed to be excited about finally being at Hogwarts.

   Rosalinda nodded her head in understanding, suddenly turning her face toward the large window. My attention was drawn to the bathroom once again as a flush and water running from a tap were heard before the door got unlocked.

   The short muscular girl walked out, a wide grin sprawled across her face now. Now that I could finally see her face, I noticed that her teeth were bright and surrounded by full lips. She was average-looking, not an exceptional beauty like Sibi or even close to the Snow White aura that Rosalinda possessed. Her eyes were dark brown, her eyebrows bushy, her nose slightly hooked.

   "Whew! I had been holding it for too long," she breathed a sigh of relief, padding towards her bed and plopping down on it.

   I didn't hold back a wholehearted laugh at her blunt remark. She turned her head towards me, one eyebrow arching curiously. There was a look of amusement on her face, one that resembled Alex's typical expression so much that I began wondering whether the two of them were related or not.

"I'm Christine," she introduced herself, propping herself up on one elbow so that she was facing me. "Christine Rebecca Cole, to be precise. I know your name is Polly Kin and you're a transfer student from Ilvermorny. I bet the whole Gryffindor house knows this by now."

I looked down at my feet, heat rising to my cheeks. No matter how much I hated being the center of attention, it seemed as though this was something inevitable for me. No matter where I went or what I did, I somehow always stood out, one way or another.

"Anyway, I'd say sorry for not talking to you at all during the banquet," Christine continued, pulling me out of my train of thoughts. "But I doubt you really minded, since you had everybody else's attention. Besides, I was too busy eating. The Welcoming Banquet happens only once a year, you know. All that delicious food mustn't go to waste."

I threw my head back in laughter, instantly making up my mind that I liked this girl already. An involuntary yawn suddenly escaped my throat and my eyes shifted to the cushy four poster bed waiting for me.

"I am so tired," I groaned, rubbing my eyes.

"Aren't we all?" Sibi said.

I quickly ran to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and did my business before getting changed into my pajamas and flopping down on the cottony bed. My whole spine made a loud cracking sound when I finally landed on something comfortable after so many months of sleeping on a couch or inside a sleeping bag.

The fragrant potion that the air was perfumed with was so strong, I felt I was being intoxicated. In a pleasant way though, because everything my body and brain needed at the moment was a good night's sleep.

"Goodnight, girls," Sibi said, right before the lights flickered shut.

"Goodnight," I whispered, snuggling comfortably under the warm blankets.

"Night," came Rosalinda's tired voice.

"I wonder what we'll have for breakfast tomorrow," Christine added, which made me chuckle softly before I finally shut my eyes.

All in all, this day had been pretty eventful and way more exciting than I'd ever dreamed it would. As I let sleep take over me in the Gryffindor Tower, I let my thoughts wander to the following day and the new adventures as a witch that would come along with it.

As a witch. A smiled flicked to my face at the blissful thought. The new chapter of my life had just begun and I couldn't wait to start writing stories on the blank pages that were waiting to be filled.