Chapter 4: Going to School

As night fell and Senna had departed, Coco sat with its young mistress before bedtime, softly murmuring endless reminders about self-care.

Lys was already drowsy, her left hand clutching the wand beneath her pillow, her right hand holding Coco's, occasionally mumbling "mm-hmm" to show she was still listening.

As sleep approached, Lys gripped her wand tighter. It had only been returned to her just before Senna left, transformed from an ornately carved black wand into its current form - a simple brown rod with silver rings.

"Family heirloom, oak, snake heartstring, 14 inches," she recited drowsily, "Gregorovitch's work, Ellen Black..." She drifted into sleep.

Time flew by swiftly. Before Lys had mastered more than a few words, the day to board the train for school arrived.

Before leaving, her father spoke with her briefly - one in bed, the other outside the door.

"Lys, Hogwarts will be your new hope. You shouldn't waste away here with me, when I can barely even look at you," Lys twisted a loose thread from her clothes around her finger as she listened to Noah. "Though I shouldn't influence you, I hope you'll be in Slytherin."

Lys didn't quite understand, not knowing what Slytherin was. Father said much more, but she couldn't comprehend it all.

Coco was instructed to escort its young mistress to the station when the day came.

The house-elf stood there, blowing its nose and staring with tennis ball-sized eyes brimming with tears at its departing young mistress. "Oh, my young mistress, eleven years gone by so quickly, and now you're off to school! Please take care of yourself. Coco must return home now, Coco must care for Master, Coco-" A loud nose-blow accompanied its final "Coco will miss you!" before it disapparated.

Dragging her not-too-many but sufficiently heavy bags, too preoccupied to feel sad, Lys stared at the red steam-breathing monster, exclaiming through her aching, swollen cheek:

"Wow, what is that!"

There were snacks for sale on the train, but Lys had no money to buy any.

The girl sharing her compartment was convinced she'd be in wise Ravenclaw, and asked Lys, "Which house do you think you'll be in?"

Lys wasn't sure, but recalled her father's words from the previous night. "I think maybe Slytherin. My father hopes I'll go there."

Hearing this, the aspiring Ravenclaw girl glanced at Lys, suddenly remembered something urgent, and left the compartment. She didn't return even as darkness fell and the train arrived.

Dressed in her second-hand uniform and clutching her wand, Lys felt like Helpo from her storybook at home - she was about to journey from a land of silence to fertile ground!

With so many people disembarking, it would at least be lively, wouldn't it?

"First years! First years this way! We'll take the boats to the castle," a massive shadow called, leading them forward with a lantern.

During the walk to the boats, Lys kept tripping over her robes, falling far behind the others.

When boarding, she nearly tumbled halfway into the water.

Thankfully, a boy on the boat pulled her up, fearing it might capsize - otherwise, Lys might have had to swim to their destination.

As they approached the castle, Lys grew increasingly anxious. What if the school rejected her? Would she really have to go to a normal school and learn to use tools like a gorilla, as her mother said?

Though she didn't know what a gorilla was, her mother used the same tone as when speaking about her, so it couldn't be anything good.

Rounding the corner, Lys once again muttered in amazement at the castle.

"Wow, what is that!"

The boy standing beside Lys thought he'd heard more "Wow, what is that!" exclamations on this short walk to the waiting hall than he'd hear in his entire life.

The person making these exclamations even tried to touch the blood dripping from ghosts and reach into a talking suit of armor! Surely they must be a Gryffindor - reckless! Impolite! the boy thought.

A stern-looking witch entered the waiting room, informing the chattering children about what would happen next.

"The Sorting Ceremony will now begin, determining your house for the next seven years. You'll earn and lose points for your house, ultimately deciding the House Cup winner. Don't be nervous - when your name is called, simply sit on the stool and put on the Sorting Hat."

She arranged the children into two lines and led them into the Great Hall.

"Wow, what is that!"

The boy standing next to Lys heard the phrase yet again. He swore that if he ended up in the same house as this chubby-cheeked young witch - if she had such honor - he would definitely gift her a copy of "Great Magic Everyone Should Know"!

They stood listening to a tattered hat sing its peculiar song.

Lys didn't understand many of the words.

The sorting began. The surname Black came early in the alphabet, after several students were sorted into Hufflepuff and Gryffindor-

"Starlys Black!"