Eriol’s first day at Hogwarts

by Grace Elizabeth Bellerby {www.niftygirl.net}

"I Knew the Founders"

It was a busy London day and the streets were bustling with businessmen and
women on Their way to work, shoppers in for the day to buy the season's
latest fashions, tourists Who were there to visit Buckingham Palace, The
London Eye, or any other of the city's countless attractions. Also among
these people was a much more subtle group, a group you would only come
across if you already knew about them, a group to which a small bespectacled
boy named Eriol Hiiragizawa belonged.

To the average onlooker he was good-looking Japanese English child of around
ten or eleven years of age. His raven hair had an almost bluish tint to it,
his pale skin did not make him look ill as it might other people but rather
mysterious and intelligent, and his blue eyes glittered with wisdom quite
beyond his years. He lifted a small pocket-watch out of his trouser pocket
and smiled as he read the time "It's almost eleven Ruby" he told the brown
haired 'girl' standing next to him "I'd better get going."

"I still don't why I can't come!" she moaned indignantly.

"Let's just say I don't want you 'snacking' on any of my class mates" he
told her calmly "I expect they wouldn't like it very much."

"Tell me again" a small winged kitten-like creature inquired "why you
decided to accompany us dressed as you are? Wouldn't trousers be more
functional?"

"But this is sooo much cuter!" the 'girl' exclaimed twirling around so they
could get a better view of the pink sundress she was wearing.

"I don't think I'll ever understand you" the kitten-creature sighed.

"Oh lighten up Suppi-chan!" Ruby Moon said with a girlish giggle "let me
have some fun!"

"Don't call me Suppi-chan, I'm Spinal Sun." He bemoaned

"But Suppi-chan is sooo much cuter!" she replied with a mischievous wink,
causing Spinal Sun to sigh even harder as Eriol, who's bag he was residing
in walked towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten of the famous
King's Cross railway station.

"We will see you in a year Ruby Moon" Eriol told her "please stay out of
trouble until then, I don't wish to sort out any large messes upon my
return."

"Okay!" Ruby Moon replied cheerfully as they casually stepped through the
seemingly solid wall that separated to the two platforms revealing another -
a one numbered 'Nine and three quarters' "I promise."

"Why am I not reassured?" Spinal Sun asked as he fluttered out of his hiding
place toward the enormous red steam-engine that stood before them "We must
make haste master if we do not wish to be left behind."

"Don't worry Spinal, I am coming" Eriol reassured the little creature.

---

Quarter of an hour later the boy and the guardian beast were sitting alone
in a quiet cabin
they both had books out and were reading them when they heard a rapping on
the door, he looked up to see three student's who where obviously several
years above him. One was a tall skinny red-haired boy. Another was a female
brunette who had a somewhat bossy aura around her and was wearing a badge
bearing the moniker of 'S.P.E.W' on it and a somewhat exasperated
expression.

The last, like Eriol, had glasses and he too had black hair his eyes however
where emerald green and carried in the evidence of recent loss.

But by far his most striking feature was the scar, shaped like a lightning
bolt that stretched across his forehead.

"Hi" the girl greeted him "is it alright if we sit in this cabin to? We
can't find any other ones with enough room left" she inquired briskly.

"Of course you may Miss, but let me introduce myself, I am Eriol
Hiiragizawa" he told her politely "I am glad to make you acquaintance."

"Oh, thanks I'm Hermione Granger by the way, and this is Ron Weasley" she
answered gesturing towards the red-head.

"I see that your other friend is the famous Harry Potter, I was hoping I may
get the chance to meet you" Eriol smiled mysteriously "this is a friend of
mine, a Guardian Beast by the name of Spinal Sun"

"Hello" Spinal said lifting his head from his book for a few seconds before
turning back to it without so much as a bat of an eyelid.

"Hey it talked!" Ron exclaimed "what is it?"

"Didn't you hear Ron? Eriol said that Spinal Sun is a Guardian Beast! You
should use your ears more often!" Hermione reprimanded.

"And what, pray tell is a Guardian Beast?" Ron snapped back.

"I am not sure" Hermione told him slightly put out that she couldn't come up
with a suitable answer "but anything is better than 'it'... are you a boy or
a girl?" she added as an afterthought.

"Spinal is a male of sorts" Eriol told her "so I would advise you refer to
him suitably."

"Right" Harry said as he heaved Hedwig and Pigwigeon's cages onto the rack
above his seat and turned to sit, down Hermione and Ron join him as Hermione
lifted Crookshanks from his basket onto her lap.

"So you are a first year?" Harry asked curiously, for some reason the little
boy intrigued him more than another random student would.

"Yes I am, I am very happy to be attending Hogwarts" he told Harry "I was
studying aboard in Japan not too long ago in preparation for this, and I
must say I a little excited."

"Oyo! Japan? Did you visit Yokochou Fukakai? I've always wanted to go
there!" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Where?" Ron asked in confusion, Harry too looked bemused, but not
surprised, by Hermione comments.

"Honestly! Don't you read? Yokochou Fukakai! 'The Diagon Alley of Japan!'"
she told them rolling her eyes
"It is a very famous place it means more or less mystery or inexplicable
side-street in Japanese."

"Right, whatever" Ron answered turning back to Eriol "what's your Quidditch
team?" he asked as Hermione rolled her eyes again and Harry shuffled towards
Eriol, apparently eager for this information as well.

"I have three" Eriol told them sincerely "one here, one from Japan, and one
from China. I like the Wimpbourne Wasps, Kamen no Chiba - a Japanese team
who all wear masks and Jusenkyo Riders a Chinese team."

"Do you play?" Harry asked, wanting to talk more about Quidditch - Hermione
was busy reading a school book and stroking Crookshanks who was purring away
on her lap.

"A little" Eriol said with a smile.

---

The Quidditch talk continued until the Dinner Trolley witch appeared at half
past one in the afternoon "Hello dears, what would you like?" she asked
kindly as Harry, Hermione and Eriol approached her.

Ten minutes later they dumped the contents of their overloaded arms onto the
cabin floor "Brilliant!" Ron cheered picking up a chocolate frog and
unwrapping it "I thought I was about to die of hunger!"

"I got Dumbledore AGAIN!" Ron moaned looking at the card "hey Eriol, you
want it? I have loads of Dumbledores already."

"Thank you" Eriol said taking the card and reading it before picking up a
chocolate frog himself, he unwrapped and ate it with much more grace and
eloquence than Ron had.

"Who'd you get?" Harry enquired as he chewed some Bertie Bott's every
flavour beans and picked up a Pumpkin Pastie hungrily.

Eriol looked and his card and smiled a slightly spooky smile as he read it,
the he turn in around for the others to see and said serenely "Clow Read"

"Wow!" Hermione gasped "he is really famous!"

"Who?" Asked Harry blinking

"He's a fairly rare one! That's a good start that is!" Ron told Eriol with a
nod.

"Who was he?" Harry asked Hermione and was shocked when it was Ron that
spoke up not her, although his description was somewhat lacking compared to
the kind Hermione usually gave.

"Oh he's this bloke who invented a new type of magic a while back;
apparently he was mates with the Hogwarts founders. They wanted to name
another house after him but he declined."

"Wow Ron!" Hermione gasped, disappointed that she didn't get the chance to
answer, but impressed at the same time.

"What?" Ron asked embarrassedly "It's what is says on the back of the cards
I've got two of him at home."

"I think the Mudblood is merely amazed that your pea-brain can retain
anything in it Weasley..." came a familiar, irritating drawl "...as am I, oh
well I suppose you had to remember something once in your life."

"Shut up Malfoy" Harry reprimanded him.

"I can say what I please Potter, it's a free country." Draco told him
smarmily "We aren't all forced to worship the ground you walk on yet, bet
you'd like that wouldn't you? Having us all act like losers like Weasel-boy
and the Mudblood?"

"I said shut it!" Harry bristled at Draco's insults to his friends.

"No I don't think I will" Draco said picking up an chocolate frog and
starting to sing the Slytherin version of 'Weasley is our King' while
unwrapping it and tossing it from one hand to another "Here Weasley if you
are such a good keeper then you'll be able to catch this!" Draco told him
sarcastically and tossed the frog in Ron's direction, or at least he tried
to, it actually headed some half a foot to the left of Ron and smacked
someone else in the mouth.

And unfortunately that someone was Spinel Sun, before he could stop himself
he had swallowed it.

"Oh dear that's not good." Eriol said calmly and with a quite
all-knowing-smile he added "you are going to regret that I'm afraid."

"What do you mea...?" Draco asked but he was cut of by Spinel's high pitched
squeal of delight.

"SWEETIES!!" he said, dropping the book he had been reading and diving into
the pile of food that was still on the cabin floor "SWEETIES! SWEETIES!
SWEETIES!!!"

"What on earth?" Harry gaped as within seconds the entire pile disappeared
into Spinel's stomach; after he was done he looked up at Draco and then flew
onto his robes and demanded more.

"I want sweeties!" He cried as Draco took a few steps back out of the cabin.

"I don't have any and I wouldn't give a, a, a thing like you any if I did!
So get off me!" Draco yelled as he tried to push Spinel off him.

"But I WANT SWEETIES!" Spinel screamed sending one of his pink laser beams
in the direction of Draco's hair, which was singed (Draco had unsuccessfully
tried to duck) then he bounded away in the direction of the front of the
train still
yelling out "SWEETIES!"

---

Some time later after the laughter from Ron and Harry had died down and
Eriol had reassured them that Spinal would not cause too much trouble. The
dinner-trolley witch appeared demand Eriol pay up for Spinal devouring
everything she had left after her rounds (which Eriol did, even though it
came to 92 galleons, 14 sickles and 10 knuts), and to return the now
sleeping guardian beast to his master, this was just as the sky began to
grow dark.

"I think we should get changed into our uniforms" Hermione suggested as the
train began to slow, and as they finished pulling on their robes and
straightening their hats they had arrived at Hogsmeade. Harry and Ron helped
to lift down Eriol's trunk from his rack and, to thank them Eriol offered to
carry Hedwig and Pigwigeon's for them, as Spinal was back asleep in Eriols
bag.

"No that's okay" Harry told him as he tried to drag both his own and Eriol's
trunk out of the train.

"For crying out loud Harry! You'll hurt yourself" Hermione exclaimed with a
flick of her wand "let me help. Locomotor Trunk!"

"Oh, yeah I forgot about that." Harry put in embarrassedly as Eriol's trunk
began to follow Hermione on its own.

Once they got outside they noticed that - while not raining - it was
definitely chilly, and when they heard Hagrid's voice calling "Firs' years!
Firs' years!" the older student's couldn't help feel sorry for Eriol and the
others who would be crossing the lake.

"Tha' everyone?" Hargid asked as some of the tiny first years looked up at
him with faces full of fear, everyone except Eriol seemed very nervous.

When the lake had been crossed and the small group of students had been
briefed by Professor McGonagall they made their way into the hall. Professor
McGonagall placed the sorting hat on it's stool and everyone waited for what
it was about to say. Or rather sing, and then it began:

"Come one come all!
Let's have a ball,
Another year at Hogwarts!

I'm here to see,
Where you should be
In which house will study our arts?

If you show no fear,
To protect those dear,
To your mighty heart.

Then you my friend,
You might just end up
In Gryffindor's parts!

Or are you wise?
Can you devise?
If so then deary-me!

I'll tell you now
Oh wow, oh wow
Then it's a Ravenclaw you'll be!

If you are loyal
And like to work
No matter how much it hurts

And this I'll say
To you this day
Look's like a Hufflepuff to me

The ones who are cunning
The ones who are crafty
Don't worry! I'm not some dafty

You my friend
Till the end
A Slytherin will be!"

The hat ended its song as everyone gave it a round of applause and Professor
McGonagall called the first name.

"Benn, Benjamin!"     "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Cambridge, Ann!". and she continued until Eriol was called up, she
pronounced his name perfectly.

"Hiiragizawa, Eriol"

Eriol strode calmly up to the stool and sat on it as the hat slid over his
glasses "Well, well, well so you were reborn I see." The hat mused "Godric
thought you'd be, so did Rowena, and Hilda. Salazar I don't know but the
other knew." Eriol smiled, "Well lets sort you then, your smart, very smart.
and brave however you hide things from people, though you only do it because
it is need. I think then.. RAVENCLAW!" and when Eriol joined his table, he
felt that at last, he was there, and then he threw a wink at Harry that
seemed to say "I'll see you on the Quidditch Field"

- Fin