- Chapter Twelve -
"You've fucked us."

DESPITE BEING BACK AT HOGWARTS ONLY A WEEK PRIOR, Sebastian was always astounded by the architecture that revealed itself when the carriages the held the students pushed over the first hill of their journey. It's grandeur stood out against the magnificent skyline, leaving the excitable Hogwarts attendees to lean their heads out of the windows of their carriages to try and get a better look at their second home.

Although he was never really one to allow himself to marvel in the splendour of things, Sebastian found himself peering out of one of the ragged windows, his eyes trained to the castle, looking past the skeletal thestral that pulled the carriage along with it.

Sebastian had started seeing Thestrals in his fifth year when he first attended Hogwarts; 1967. The year he had been completely submitted into the ranks of the Death Eaters, intimidated beyond belief by the Dark Lord, his only saviour his semi-loving mother who seemed to care more than she showed. But he couldn't be sure. The summer before fifth year, he had witnessed terrible things and then the thestrals were there to greet him by the carriages when he arrived at the castle.

He supposed that was when he knew things were falling apart.

The friends he had had, Gryffindors despite his famous Slytherin name had told him that nothing had been pulling the carriages like always, but their Care of Magical Creatures professor had explained that they could only be seen by people who had seen death which led to a rather awkward dismissal from Sebastian as he strolled away. Left with a heavy heart, guilt consuming him.

"Great, isn't it?" Arthur Avery grinned as he noticed Sebastian staring at the castle, he had remained with Sebastian and Isaac the entire train ride; meaning that the two of them had to come up with a cover story on the spot. "Guess you don't get many castles out in America, huh?"

Isaac awkwardly glanced up at Sebastian, his pale cheeks flushing with the mention of the fake story they'd fabricated for Arthur's sake. Sebastian was a transfer student from America, but didn't have the accent because his parents were both English - simple enough. Isaac felt like they needed more details, a completely fleshed out story where every second of Sebastian 'Reeves' was known. But Sebastian had dismissed his worries, shaking his head.

"No, we don't," Sebastian said disinterestedly. Much to Isaac's anger, the boy had been very open to conversing with Arthur on the train over, stealing Isaac's friend to be one of his own. "But we do have mansions."

"Mansions are great," Arthur chuckled, looking off as if to reminisce on his home that was surely bigger and larger than maybe even Isaac's home. Sebastian's old one. "I can't imagine ever living somewhere else. Like the Weasleys..."

"Don't be horrid, Arthur," Isaac glared at his friend who raised his hands in quick surrender, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's true!" Arthur defended himself and looked to Sebastian, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his thighs. "The Weasleys are this pureblood family in Gryffindor, poor as anything, red hair and raggy robes all over the place. Don't look at me like that, Isaac, it's true! I'm not saying anything bad."

"It's rude." Isaac said simply, shaking his head. Sebastian sat back in his seat and sighed as the two friends had a little argument. "Just because they're not well-off doesn't mean we should talk about it."

"Oh, come on," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fred and George Weasley are-"

"Nuisances." Isaac said though he didn't seem to be in too much disdain as he spoke about it; Sebastian stared at Isaac, taking in his countenance whilst Isaac sheepishly glanced at the third party.

"Hilarious," Arthur corrected as the carriage pulled to a stop, the wheels stopping turning as the three boys grabbed their cases and hauled themselves off the carriage, out into the crowd of people that slowly were lugging up towards the castle gates. "The Weasley twins are the pranksters of the school, Sebastian, their work is amazing-"

"Well, Avery, we never thought we'd see the day!" A voice joined in and two identical twins flanked either side of Arthur as they joined the group in walking. Sebastian eyed them curiously...they had been at Sirius' house.

"Trust me, mate, there's more to come." One of the twins said.

"Keep your ears peeled-"

"- cause Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are coming to you!"

With that, the two twins bounded off, leaving the three of them in the dust as Arthur scoffed and brushed off his shoulders. It seemed his respect for their craft didn't come with respect for his smart robes that were sleek and silky in comparison to Fred and George's slightly ratty ones. Isaac hadn't been bothered by the twins and he and Sebastian just remained walking behind them.

"Hang on," Arthur said, turning to Sebastian. "How are you supposed to know what house you're in?"

"Slytherin." Sebastian answered and Arthur's confused look turned into a grin as the boy clapped Sebastian on the shoulder almost
like a proud mother. Arthur pulled Sebastian into his side, squeezing him into a hug. "Got sorted before I came."

"Best house," Arthur huffed and Isaac rolled his eyes a little as the three of them followed the crowd up to the castle.

•*•*•*•*•

"Does Dumbledore still do those stupid speeches?" Sebastian, as always, was talking with no thought for the backstory he was meant to have. Unlike Isaac, the dead man walking didn't seem to care who thought what as long as he got his way.

"Okay, one, they're not stupid, they're welcoming-" Isaac started to respond, rolling his eyes a little. The two boys walked side by side as they entered the Great Hall, Sebastian's hands shoved into his pockets carelessly whilst Isaac walked more smartly than the careless swagger his companion had. "And yes, he does, because he's a nice person."

"You know he recruits kids into armies, right?" Sebastian raised his eyebrows at his new redhead friend, who opened his mouth to reply, but shut it just as soon, deciding there was no merit to arguing with Sebastian. "Takes them just out of Hogwarts, out of the frying pan and into the fire..."

"Shut up, Sebastian," Isaac scoffed as the two boys walked up to the Slytherin table, taking their places a couple of seats down from the infamous fifth-years. Arthur had began to lag behind them, his eyes settled on a Ravenclaw girl with a rather short skirt that the others hadn't cared to stare at.

"Make me, Allen," Sebastian placed himself opposite the redhead, giving him a small wink along with his smirk. Isaac shook his head, huffing at the situation; again, he was about to make a witty comment, but Sebastian's gaze had swapped from him to slightly above him.

"Look, Isaac, you've got yourself a new friend," Rosa's voice was heard from behind Isaac and the boy rolled his eyes as she squeezed herself beside him on the bench for a moment, eyes trained to Sebastian as she smirked a little. "Hey. I'm Isaac's sister, Rosa. I know, we don't look alike. I'm much hotter, of course,"

"No doubt," Sebastian smiled politely, shaking the hand that she outstretched to him. Isaac rolled his eyes once again, swatting Rosa again who was making eyes at Sebastian before she got up and strolled over to her other group of friends. "How old is she, like 13?"

"She's a pain in my ass." Isaac grumbled. "She's taken a liking to you, though."

"Not interested," Sebastian said simply, his eyes peeking over the top of Isaac's head again as he searched the Great Hall for something other than the Allen siblings who seemed to be everywhere like leeches latching onto human skin.

"Well good cause she's thirteen."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I said I'm not interested."

"Good."

"Good."

"Great."

"Great."

"Fine."

"Fine." Sebastian pumped his eyebrows once, gaze straying overhead to where candles floated in the air. Dimly lit and hexed, below the night sky and above their heads, but careful not to drop wax onto their skin...just like Sebastian remembered it. He smiled tightly at the mere memory, puffing air out into his cheeks before lying his head on the table in front of him. "Ugh, I'm so bored already."

"Well, the sorting ceremony will start soon," Isaac eyed Sebastian's dramatics with disdain, his eyes sweeping around the Hall as all of the students filtered in, waving and smiling with their friends as they sat with one another. Arthur slipped into the seat beside him with a gentle apology, but a wide smile on his face. "Happy man?"

"Very happy man," Arthur agreed, smirking as he looked across the table at Sebastian. Sebastian was not bothered in the slightest with anything either of them had to say, as he settled on staring curiously at the staff table. "Here's the thing, Seb. Can I call you Seb?"

"No."

"Well, Seb..." Arthur trailed off and Isaac grumbled as he poured himself some juice. "Here's the thing. Some girls here are bombs. Some girls here are worms. You want a bomb, but not a skank. And you don't want a worm but you want someone willing to put out. For example, lovely Jamie-Leigh from Ravenclaw parading around in that short skirt. She's a bomb, but it's clear she's showing it off. But, she won't actually get with anyone, she just likes people to watch. Thats what we call a lynx."

"We means just Arthur, by the way-" Isaac blushed in embarrassment at Arthur's crude way of speaking of the women at this school. "Some of us are more respectful."

"You've never even kissed a girl, Isaac," Arthur groaned, looking at the boy.

"Thats because I'm gay, Arthur," Isaac replied in the same tone.

"Woah, what?" Sebastian widened his eyes, looking to Isaac in front of him and leaning back a little, furrowing his eyebrows. Arthur raised an eyebrow, turning to judge Sebastian's reaction as Isaac burned another red colour. "You're a puff?"

"Right, okay, Sebastian, there are some words people just don't say anymore-" Isaac said snappishly, his eyes narrowing into slits as they stared at Sebastian. Arthur's eyebrows pinched in confusion as he watched Isaac start to lecture Sebastian on outdated words. "Puff being one of them. And basically every other word you know to describe a gay person."

"Fairy?"

"Not okay."

"Pansy?"

"No."

"Fa-"

"Definitely not!" Isaac massaged his temples.

"Dude, calm down man," Arthur regarded Sebastian with a little bit of reproach, Isaac shut his eyes, taking a deep breath to stop himself from reaching over the table and throttling Sebastian, but restrained himself. "You're acting like you're from the 60s or something. Being gay isn't a bad thing. At least he's not a mudblood or something."

Usually, Isaac would launch into a long and dreadfully boring ramble about how they shouldn't discriminate based on blood. That was what Arthur was expecting to happen, after all, but after his comment about Sebastian being from the 60s,  the two other boys in the trio transitioned into silence. Sebastian didn't look too bothered as he swirled around the juice in his cup, but Isaac was as red as the last time he had forgotten to put on suncream.

"Your attention, please!" Dumbledore called from his golden podium that stood at the front of the Great Hall. Immediately, the ruckus from different tables quieted as they all looked up at the Headmaster who stood before the long staff table. "The Sorting Ceremony will now commence."

At once, the doors to the Great Hall, that had been closed once every student from the elder years had been seated, flew wide open again to allow the new cluster of first-years to make their way in, led by the fearsome Professor McGonagall. Like she had been during Sebastian's school years and when he had seen her at 12 Grimmauld Place, she was elderly and had pinched features, but it didn't make her look any less terrifying than she had done.

In her robes of emerald green, she swept through the centre aisle of the four tables, the first years following like little mice. Isaac straightened up a little, searching for Elijah and Eleanor. As suspected, Eleanor was leading the pack, chest puffed out proudly and her excitement brimming as they got closer and closer to the stool and the Sorting Hat that sat atop of it. Elijah was beside her, meeker than Eleanor but still attached at the hip.

"They look so grown up," Arthur mentioned, pouting a little as he put his hand on his heart, gazing at the Allen twins at the front of the pack.

Professor McGonagall's shoes clicked against the stone floor as she stepped her way up to stand beside the stool, taking a large scroll out of her pocket before opening it up and reading out the first name.

"Allen, Eleanor,"

Eleanor very eagerly stepped up toward the stool, grinning her heart out as McGonagall picked the hat up into her hand so that Eleanor could sit down upon it. Isaac gave her a little smile as her gaze strayed over to the Slytherin table, every Allen sibling that had been through Hogwarts was a Slytherin, it was in their blood. Daniel was a Slytherin and Isaac was sure that Chrissy would be too when she eventually came of age.

Professor McGonagall placed the hat down on Eleanor's head and just as suspected, it took less than a second to know exactly what house Eleanor should be placed in.

"SLYTHERIN."

The Slytherin table erupted in applause and all of the Allen siblings clapped and cheered for Eleanor as she rushed over to the table with a bright grin, shaking hands with the fifth-year prefects. Gabby was one of them, who shook hands with Eleanor before sweeping her into a hug as they both took their places back down again. Once the commotion had settled, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Allen, Elijah."

Elijah stepped up to the plate now, all of the siblings watching him, even though there was nothing to be curious about. He would be Slytherin, like they all were. Elijah looked as though he was trembling as he walked up to the stool and sat down on it, the hat placing itself on his head. Along the table, Eleanor whispered something to Gabby with a troubled look, but Gabby reassured her quietly.

Oddly, it took a little longer to place Elijah in Slytherin and the Hall sat suspended in silence for a few seconds, watching suspiciously. Dumbledore was peering down furiously from over his glasses as Elijah wasn't sent straight to the Snakes.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

A shocked silence hesitated around the Hall for a second. Just for a moment. McGonagall took the hat off of Elijah's head meanwhile he looked around anxiously, his eyes confused as he sought out his siblings. Isaac did the same, looking down the table to see Gabby with one arm wrapped around Eleanor who looked upset with the splitting off. Gabby was perplexed. Rosa had her eyebrows raised, ducking her head as her friends looked over to her - then Isaac turned to face Owen.

Owen, surrounded by all of his sixth-year friends,  clenched his jaw and glared as he watched Elijah stand and slowly make his way to the Gryffindor table among a silent Hall.

There was a small scraping of stone and then large hands started to applaud. Isaac furrowed his eyebrows and then turned around, facing the space across from him where Sebastian had stood up and started clapping for Elijah. Once Sebastian had started, there was some other scattered applause before everybody joined in, the Gryffindors welcoming Elijah to their table with a nod.

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley as prefects would've welcomed him with a handshake if it wasn't for their gazes trained to the zombie boy applauding from the Slytherin table, in Hogwarts, in uniform. Harry Potter had  the same dumbstruck expression on his face. Professor McGonagall too and Isaac knew that was it, he would be expelled.

However, among the applause as Elijah sat down away from his siblings with tears in his eyes, Professor Dumbledore smiled at Sebastian, who slowly sat back down, meeting Isaac's pinpointed scowl.

"You've fucked us," Isaac whispered to Sebastian.

•*•*•*•*•