Chương 14: Stairs

The feast continued without more interruptions from the Slytherins. The desserts were just as good, if not better than the food. I ran into the small issue of being too small to finish sampling all the variety. I may have eaten enough to make even shifting around on the bench uncomfortable. Should I add regular exercise to the list? I never really put on weight in my last life, but if I was going to be eating like this every day I might run into the issue.

Health was always a priority, but I didn't even have music, let alone audiobooks. Exercise was boring and repetitive enough without something intellectual to take my mind off it. As more plates were emptied and conversations gave way to exhaustion, Dumbledore rose once more. I carefully kept my eyes locked on Hagrid. Legilimency wasn't mind reading, he didn't have the Elder Wand in hand, and using advanced magic on hundreds of people simultaneously should be next to impossible.

All this meant my thoughts were probably safe; but the Hat had just proven there were other magics capable of reading thoughts. Dumbledore was the strongest wizard currently alive. Better to play it safe.

"Now that we all have food in our bellies, I have a few important announcements to make." The speech continued. Gilderoy Lockhart was announced as the new DADA teacher—and thankfully Dumbledore either didn't notice, or pretended not to see Lockhart stand to give his own speech before being sat back down through a glare from McGonagall—Filch banned more things. No magic in the corridors. The forest is off-limits. Anyone wanting to play quidditch should talk to Madam Hooch. Etc. etc.

I was getting pretty tired and irritable. It was close to 11pm, maybe even past that, and I'd risen very early for my ride to London. I really should've gotten a watch. How could I have forgotten something so obvious? I'd have to do something about it eventually. Probably next summer. Dumbledore's speech came to a close. I pretended to sing along with the absolutely terrible school song, and finally we were dismissed.

"First-years," called a dignified feminine voice. We turned to find an older girl with long blond curls approaching us, trailed by a shorter boy who looked like he was deliberately leaning into the stereotypical 'nerd' look. Both wore prominent blue badges with a shiny silver 'P' embossed on them.

"Hello everyone. My name is Penelope Clearwater. I'm one of the fifth-year prefects this year, and this is Rupert Whittaker. If you all would follow me, I'll show you to our dormitory." We waited a little longer while providing introductions of our own, and to let the majority of the older students filter out of the hall ahead of us. After leaving, we took the marble staircase up.

I noted a few trailing Gryffindors and Slytherins were also headed up; but not the Hufflepuffs, who were taking a portal opposite the Great Hall with a much smaller stairway going down visible just beyond. Their common room was supposed to be near the kitchens, so I made note of the direction as a place to explore later.

"This door here is Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom," Penelope pointed out.

"I recommend that you girls never use it. It is a horrible experience to do your business while being haunted. Use the ones off the Entrance Hall." The Chamber of Secrets. The door had an 'out of order' sign on it, but other than that it didn't really stand out much. I decided to find alternative routes between Ravenclaw Tower and the Great Hall.

"Haunted? Like a ghost?!" Cordelia asked excitedly.

"Why doesn't anyone perform an exorcism on her? I could do it! I have amazing secret magic and hidden power!" I cringed, and edged away from her a bit more.

"As far as we know, ghosts cannot move on after they make the decision to stay in the mortal world. They are incredibly rare, and while only twenty call Hogwarts their home, we have one of the largest stable populations in all of Europe.

"What about making her happier?" said Eliza, the girl who hadn't sat near us during the ceremony.

"Don't bother trying. Ghosts are naturally resistant to change. Anything that affects them—even powerful magic—wears off in short order. You could spend your whole life cheering Myrtle up, and she would go right back to crying in a toilet the day after you take a break." We continued down the corridor, through the illusion of a wall, and up a staircase. Then we climbed some more staircases. Penelope warned us of the ones that move, have vanishing steps, and have magical traps built into them.

We climbed more staircases. My legs were burning. At least we were going slow so that Penelope could introduce us to the paintings. We descended a staircase and climbed two more. Maybe I should've become a Slytherin. I thought to myself. I was breathing hard, relying heavily on the railings. More staircases. At least I could strike exercise off my list if this was what I'd need to go through for every meal. We came to a tower with a tight spiraling staircase around its circumference.

All the first-years were breathing hard now. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I collapsed halfway up, unable to continue. I was so tired. My legs were twitching out of my control. Whittaker pulled me onto his back and carried me the rest of the way to a large door with a bronze eagle knocker.

"Our common room is locked behind this door. To access it, all you have to do is touch the door and answer the question it asks."

"There are three types of questions," Whittaker added.

"Things that will make you think, riddles, and if you get in trouble, highly specific questions about magical theory."

"If you get the question wrong, you will need to wait outside the door until someone else comes and successfully answers the question. This is meant as an opportunity to learn from your failures, so think critically and pay attention." Penelope stepped up to the door and laid a hand on the wood. The eagle opened its beak and began to speak.

"I have no voice, yet stories I tell, I hold your secrets, guard them well. I live in towers, dark or bright, And only speak when bathed in light. What am I?"

"Does anyone have a guess?" Penelope asked politely.

"A book," I said immediately. I wasn't in the mood—or the shape—to wait around while a bunch of kids dither over not wanting to be wrong or stand out. There was a bed on the other side of that door, and I was going to claim it.

"Correct," intoned the eagle. The door swung open, revealing another spiraling staircase going off to the side. I was going to murder Rowena Ravenclaw. Bring her back to life and kill her. Maybe invent a spell that can kill ghosts and go after her daughter, The Pale Lady. This last staircase was thankfully short, going up one level to the circular Ravenclaw common room. Whittaker dumped me on a couch saying he was going to go grab "Sierra." The room had a clean efficiency about it.

There were enough couches, chairs, and tables for comfort, but it was a little impersonal. Like the lobby of a fancy hotel. Blues, whites, and bronze were prominent in all the decorations. The middle of the room was taken up by a large open fireplace, currently unlit. The size of the room especially stood out. It was massive; far too big if the spiral staircase below was any measure. Some sort of expansion enchantment was at play. Despite myself, I locked onto the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw.

The depiction of her diadem prominently displayed on her head.

"This is the Ravenclaw common room. It is a community space where you may study and spend time with other members of our house. The ceiling above us is enchanted in a similar way to the Great Hall. It will always display the current stars above as a flat painting.

"Over on this wall we have the class rankings. After your first midterms, your marks for each class will appear here. The top three students in each subject—in each year—will be rewarded with free copies of any non-restricted book in the Hogwarts' library. One for second and third place, two for first. As first-years you have eight classes that qualify which means a total of 32 books up for grabs. This will increase in your third year as more electives are brought in."

Penelope continued to go over various features of the common room and its communal resources. I paid attention, but wilted as she got to the stairs leading to the dorm rooms. Hogwarts was not handicap friendly. What do they do if a student is crippled? No sooner had the thought appeared than Whittaker returned with another girl. She was a tall brunette with a different, golden badge reading "HEAD GIRL". Oh. Right. Magic.

"There's always one, Rupert. I'll have to teach you and Penelope 'Episkey' for next year." She knelt next to my couch, pulled out her wand, and addressed me.

"I suggest you go to Madam Pomfrey tomorrow, she always makes a large batch of Magical Muscle Mend for first-years. It should help until you build enough strength for all the stairs." I took note of the potion's name. Wiggenweld Potion was used in the game and it was basically a cure-all. Was this muscle potion cheaper to make, or was this another indicator of the books being more accurate to this reality?

She waved the wand, finishing with a pair of taps that spread ice creeping through my legs, but did mercifully ease the pain. Another spell to learn. Maybe I could sit in when she teaches the prefects? I wasn't sure. My earlier revelation about the difficulty of magic and my lack of superior skill still hung over me. Healing—even the most basic of it—sounded both hard and dangerous to learn and practice. Also, Ollivander had said I should expect difficulties in the field.

My mental list was growing too long, things were going to fall off. If everything is a priority, then nothing can be prioritized. I stood gingerly. No more pain, but there was a bone-deep ache. I walked with Sierra over to the others, now out on the balcony. I wondered how having a balcony would affect the common room. Temperature control spells weren't built into the castle according to the books. Penelope was enthusiastically describing the special features of a telescope.

The first-years were staring at her glass-eyed, not taking in a word of it.

"That should be enough for tonight, Penelope. They have an early start tomorrow and need to get to bed. If any of you are experiencing muscle pains, line up and I'll help before you head up." I turned around and stumbled my way to the stairs, but froze with sudden fear. The Hogwarts stairs were enchanted to allow only girls to climb the ones leading to a girl's dormitory. Would they let me up? Would I be exposed in such a stupid way? I had kind of forgotten about my gender situation in light of magic existing.

I was going to be living in a dorm with five other girls. I'd need to use the bathroom to change every single day—if I could even get up the stairs. Riley slid an arm around me, causing me to flinch.

"Come on~ I'll help you! Almost there," and she half-dragged me up the first few steps. After I counted seven steps, I began to relax slightly. Either it was only detecting my body, or my general acceptance of being a girl was enough for whatever magic was used. I didn't really think of 'being a girl' as a core part of my identity, but I had gotten used to thinking of myself as one. It was hard not to when every time I used the restroom or took a bath I was reminded of it.

The dorm rooms appeared to all be layered atop one another. Two years of students to a floor, with seventh-years having the very peak all to themselves. First- and second-years sat right above the common room, only one flight up. The girls' side of the first landing was a hemisphere with three entrances. One for the first-years, one for the second, and a shared bathroom between the two. I could assume the other half of the circle was for the boys and had much the same layout.

The furnishings of the dorm were much more comfortable than the austere elegance of the common room. Six recessed beds were lying lengthwise along the curved outer wall. The one on the end farthest from the stairwell door—the one I would have chosen if I'd been given the option—had my trunk sitting next to it. There was another door on the side of the dorm that led to the shared bathroom. I checked it out and found the bathroom to be decently large. Even more use of the expansion charm.

The sinks were all in a row against a mirrored wall, and there were multiple private stalls and tubs. I walked back into the dorm sporting soft flannel pajamas and took a seat on my bed. I dug through my trunk for tomorrow's clothing. Then hesitated, looking around at my dormmates. The rest had entered while I was changing in the bathrooms. I quickly turned my attention away from Fiona, who was changing, and focused on the others as they settled in.

Luna had hung the apple necklace over her bed, and was now rubbing a clove of garlic into her pillow. Riley's bed was next to mine, and she was pulling an entire potted sapling out from her trunk. Eliza and Cordelia were talking about their pets. Eliza's was a giant bullfrog, and Cordelia had a brown bunny she introduced as Jazzarath, the Unending Sorrow. I relaxed. This wasn't a place where someone would mock me for a little indulgence. Probably. I shouldn't care about the opinions of others.

I pulled out Vicky, my fox plushie, and set it gently next to my pillow. Then climbed into bed and fell asleep.