Ripped Away

The Sorting

Heracles and Neville spent the remainder of the train ride in relative peace and quiet. Neville rambled on about magical plants, and Heracles listened because she was a good friend and magical plants were fascinating. When it came time for them to change into their school robes, Heracles didn't bother, and instead remained in her usual outfit of her black hooded jacket, dark green t-shirt and black jeans. Neville had looked at her with confusion as he got his robes out.

"Why aren't you changing?", he asked. Heracles looked at him with a tired expression.

"Neville, not to shit on your culture or anything, but wizarding clothes are ugly and unflattering. They're too loose, they get caught in everything, and I'd honestly rather wear socks with sandals than wear those monstrosities. I'm sure you'll look fine in them because you have that chipmunk face that makes you look cute in anything, but I just can't bring myself to wear them. The Headmaster could threaten me with expulsion and I still wouldn't wear them.", Heracles said. Neville blushed at the 'chipmunk face' comment, and Heracles left the compartment without a word so her friend could change in peace.

When they arrived at the school later that night, Heracles admired it out of her window and was struck by how similar Hogwarts looked to Night Raven College. They were both dark, gothic castles with large towers and grand walls. The only difference was that her friends didn't lay within. Taking a shuddering breath at her dark thought, Heracles got off the train with Neville at her side. When they got off, she saw two things of note; a man that was even taller than Malleus calling out for the first years to follow him, and a group of carriages off to the side of the train platform being pulled by skeletal horses. Heracles stared at the horses. She knew she had read about them in one of her books, but she couldn't put her finger on what they were.

"What are those things pulling the carriages, Neville?", Heracles asked, hoping her pureblood friend could help jog her memory. Neville looked at her strangely.

"Hera, there's nothing pulling the carriages.", the boy told her gently. Heracles was about to refute him, but then she remembered what the creatures were; Thestrals, creatures that could only be seen by those who had witnessed death. She could see them since she had watched her parents die, but Neville couldn't. Heracles shook her head.

"Right. My mistake.", she said, and she started walking towards the giant man without a word. Neville blinked at her in bewilderment, but followed after her regardless.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!", the giant man yelled, holding his lantern high in the air for all to see. Heracles and Neville brushed past him and got into the boats he was standing in front of. They heard him say there could only be four in a boat, but Neville and Heracles were the only ones in theirs. No one wanted to sit with them, not that Heracles minded. She laughed as a redheaded boy with dirt on his nose tripped over a rope tying one of the boats to the dock and fell into the lake. The boy glared at her before dragging himself out of the water and getting into the boat farthest from hers.

The boats soon started sailing to the castle, floating idly along the water by magic. Most of the students gasped and awed over the splendor of the castle, but Heracles just stared at it coldly. It was a bitter reminder of what she had lost, a cheap imitation of her real home.

Heracles was brought out of her brooding when a large black tentacle rose out of the murky water. Heracles stared at it with hope shining in her eyes. For a fleeting moment, she hoped that the tentacle belonged to Azul, as irrational as it was to think that. But when she saw that the tentacle resembled a squid more than an octopus, that hope quickly died. The creature with the tentacle seemed to notice her sorrow, and reached out to pat her on the head comfortingly. Heracles sat stunned at the rubber appendage ruffled her red hair. The students around her gasped, and once the tentacle returned under water, Neville looked at her weirdly.