Chapter 29: Welcome-To-Ilvermorny (I)
"So, what do you think, Potter? Is our school better than Hogwarts?" Jake asked as he slumped down beside Harry in the dining hall. Unlike Hogwarts, the dining hall in Ilvermorny was just that… a dining hall. If the Headmaster or any other staff members needed to make an announcement, then all the students were asked to gather at the entrance hall and the announcement was done from the circular balcony from the floor above.
Harry turned his head to give the seventh year prefect a look and he realized that Jake was genuinely curious. At first, Harry thought that Jake was probably trying to make fun of him, but he was wrong, or Jake was a really good actor.
|The Great Hall is much better than this… dining hall. The roof of the Great Hall is enchanted to look like real sky| Lily huffed inside Harry's mind haughtily, but Harry simply decided to ignore her.
"I haven't been to Hogwarts so I don't know, but I have heard stories that the roof of the Great Hall is enchanted to look like the real sky" Harry revealed with a small smile marring his face and Jake's eyes started to shine is excitement.
"Cool!" Jake exclaimed, looking really excited. "What else can you tell me about Hogwarts?" Jake asked, only to receive a shrug from Harry.
"Um, sorry. I don't know much as I haven't been there. I have only heard some stories and from what I can tell, classes are better here and Ilvermorny has more subjects too" Harry explained with an apologetic look on his face, and even though Jake was a bit disappointed, he still nodded his head in understanding.
"Oh, well. It's alright I guess. Anyways, welcome to Ilvermorny, and if you need any help, then you are always welcome" Jake said as he raised his fist toward Harry. Noticing the confused look on Harry's face, Jake simply urged Harry to raise his own fist.
Harry gave him a look before raising his fist and Jake bumped his fist with Harry… "This is how you fist bump, Potter. Get used to this or everyone will think you are a country bumpkin!" Jake laughed as he stood up and walked away.
Harry didn't know what to say, but from what he has seen, Jake Taylor was alright in his books… "Whoa!! That was Jake Taylor. Do you know him?" The same boy, who was glaring at Harry after Harry broke his stupid delusions gushed out excitedly. Harry was thinking that he was able to get rid of the boy, but here he was, back to his initial obnoxious self.
Harry opened his mouth to give the boy a scathing reply as he wanted nothing from the boy, but he was cut off when the boy continued to speak… "Of course, you know him. After all, you are the Boy-Who-Lived and he is the Quidditch Captain of our House, so it is obvious that you know him" The boy gushed out excitedly like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I don't know what you think you know about me, but I didn't even know him until today and just for the record, I don't like Quidditch" Harry retorted in a monotone, barely holding himself back from snapping at the obnoxious boy.
Harry didn't understand how or why, but the boy clearly had some ulterior motives. He would have blamed the boy's parents, but nobody besides Carlson or the staff knew that he would be attending Ilvermorny instead of Hogwarts, so it was quite unlikely that the boy's parents put him up to it. Harry was completely fine with the boy glaring at him from afar even though he knew that the boy was going to be a huge annoyance,
Unfortunately for Harry, after he returned to the group after receiving his Wand, the boy was back to his usual obnoxious self. The boy was so obnoxious that he was yet to introduce himself and it was common courtesy to introduce yourself even in the Muggle world. The boy gasped loudly after hearing Harry's words.
"No, you can't! You are not Harry Potter! You can't be Harry Potter! Harry Potter cannot hate something as epic as Quidditch!" The boy growled in anger as he picked up his plate and walked away.
|Good riddance| Harry grumbled internally. Even though he was a bit offended and wanted to get rid of the boy in a permanent fashion, he was quite glad that the boy walked away on his own or Harry might have lost his patience and stabbed the boy with the butter knife or the fork.
|I hope he never returns. Don't worry, son. I also never loved Quidditch and I never understood why everyone is crazy about the silly game| Lily pointed out, making her stand clear when it comes to Quidditch.
"If you are wondering, that was Owen Curtis from the House of Curtis, he is the most obnoxious boy I have ever met. It would be better if you stayed away from him and it would do you a lot of good if you don't hurt him" Brittany, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table as she pushed up her glasses.
Harry held back a frown as he scrunched his face in confusion. "Why?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
Was the girl trying to protect the boy or was it something else… It was also a good thing that Harry held himself back from hurting the boy. The boy was from a Pureblood House, it would have caused him a lot of problems if he attacked the boy in front of so many witnesses. Harry knew that he didn't have any backing to face a Pureblood House even with Jacklyn Harper helping him out.
"He is the youngest child of the family and he is quite loved… That is Rigel Curtis" Brittany said as she jerked her chin toward the Wampus House table and Harry's gaze found the fifth year prefect. "Rigel dearly loves his Owen, just like everyone else in their Family and Rigel would make your life extremely difficult even if you are 'The Harry Potter'" Brittany explained, putting more emphasis on 'The Harry Potter'.
At least she didn't call him the Boy-Who-Lived… To be honest, he hated the moniker. It was a reminder of the fact that he lived while his parents died, but he wouldn't mind using the fact to his own advantage though… His mom is still alive, but that's beside the fact. It was simply a matter of principle…
"I see…" Harry muttered as he nodded his head in understanding.
"They won't care if Owen was at fault or not, they will simply come for you" Brittany said as she once again pushed up her glasses.
"Thanks, I will be careful" Harry said gratefully as he resumed eating. He was also grateful to all the prefects for keeping him from getting mobbed by students. A lot of students seemed to be quite interested in him and it was really unnerving him. Until he met Norton, he didn't know anything about friendship or companionship, so he was used to being a loner, but now that he was the center of everyone's attention, it was making him uncomfortable.
After everyone was finally done with their meals, the fifth year prefects of Horned Serpent started to lead the first years to the Horned Serpent dorms while the fifth year prefects of the other houses were also doing the same for their own first years. Wampus dorms were on the third floor, Horned Serpent dorms were on the fourth floor, Thunderbird dorms were on the fifth floor, and finally, Pukwudgie dorms were on the sixth floor.
|Thank Merlin, they don't have moving stairs… It was a huge pain in the ar…| Lily snapped her mouth shut when she finally realized that she was about to curse. Harry simply rolled his eyes.
|I already know what you were going to say, so it kind of beats the purpose| Harry pointed out in an amused tone.
|Yes you do, but I am not happy that you know them in the first place| Lily growled in frustration. While Lily did have a hand in his upbringing, she didn't have much of an influence on his upbringing until Harry was eight, so she was unable to stop him from learning stuff from thugs. Harry rarely cursed or swore, but it was simply a matter of principle.
|...It was a huge pain in the back when you were in a hurry| Lily finished the sentence and Harry ended up rolling his eyes for the second time when his mom decided to use back instead of arse. |I won't be cursing before you are fourteen and I don't want to hear you using any foul words before you turn fourteen| Lily added unhappily. She knew that she couldn't stop Harry from cursing, so she decided to give him a timeline.
Anyone in her place wouldn't have done so, but Lily was no longer a normal mother. The prefects finally led the first years into the Horned Serpent dorms and Harry couldn't help but look around in awe… The common room was massive. There were a lot of desks and chairs for students to sit down and study. The left side of the dorm was completely dedicated to shelves filled with books, but not only that, Harry could see stacks of books lying around everywhere.
|Den of bookworms indeed| Harry mused inside his mind as a grin formed on his face.
The interior of the common room was following the trend of their uniforms… The whole common room was blue with cranberry aesthetics and there was a Horned Serpent statue right above the fireplace. Several comfy-looking couches were gathered around the fireplace along with some small desks in front of the couches so that students could study even when they were relaxing on the couches.
|Hm… I can get used to this| Harry muttered internally as he started to nod his head with a satisfied grin on his face…