The Crown Series - A Harry Potter Story

I must wear an ugly, old hat

Alyssa POV
When we arrived at the lakeside, it was clear how much we stood out regarding our age and height. Our shadows reflected on the moving surface, right under the mirrored moon.

Across from where we stood, was the castle. Brightly lit windows, tall towers and huge walls gave us our first impression of our temporary home.

"It's truly beautiful." I mumbled, mentally comparing it to the royal castle.
"We're gonna have a great time here." Assured James, taking my hand in his and giving it a slight squeeze.
"Of course we will." I replied, not wanting to appear weak.
Obviously he sensed that I was nervous, but as he took my hand, my heart skipped a beat for a completely different reason.
Trying to hide my emotions, I looked down in the water, only to meet my own gaze, looking back at me in distress.

Suddenly the ground we stood on was hit by waves, coming from a fleet of small boats. They were illuminated by big lanterns in the front and were moving in our direction.

"First years in the boats!" Shouted Hagrid. His booming voice startled some of the kids, one of them almost stumbled back into the lake.
"Careful please!" He shouted again, as the eleven years old all tried to get onto a boat first.

After five minutes of pushing each other they were finally all seated in their boats and moving across the lake to the other side.

James and I were the only people left standing on the tall grass, enjoying the beautiful view of the small boats on the water, moving like fireflies in the woods.
The only boat left was ours, already filled with Hagrid and two first years, one Asian looking boy and a girl with cinnamon coloured hair and dark skin.

"Vi?" James asked, offering me his hand.
I could feel myself smiling, fireworks erupting in my chest, as I took his hand and carefully stepped over the railing.

"Alright that took a while." Complained the half giant, but his face betrayed his words, as he couldn't contain a grin.

Slowly we began to move, gliding across the smooth surface under the light of the moon, in front of us, the giant castle shining from the inside. It was truly magical.

We sat in awkward silence for a while, until I decided to break it.
I mean I'm a princess, right? It should be easy to bond with people. Yeah for me, not so much. Usually I overthink way too much, just like I do right now.

"Soo.. What's your name?" I asked the kids. Hoping it doesn't sound too weird.
"My name's Hazel. Who are you?" The girl replied, her face dead serious.
"I'm Frank. Nice to meet you." The boy sounded a bit nervous, not as confident as the Hazel girl.

"I am Alyssa, nice to meet you too. This is James." I pointed in his direction, only getting an absently nod in return. I rolled my eyes at his antics.
' Way to be nice I guess' I thought.

Striking up the conversation again, I started to get to know the two.
I instantly liked Frank, he was polite, friendly and smart, but also Hazel. She was fierce, determined and had a quick way with words. We quickly overcame the awkward phase and I decided that I found my favourite first years already.

In Beauxbatons we have the tradition that every student of the higher years 'adopts' a first year to help them with their studies, personal problems and more. It is a great way to strengthen the bonds between the years and it has helped almost everybody included in this tradition. The older students learn important skills as well. Such as teaching subjects, empathy and leadership competencies.

Maybe Hogwarts could also profit from such a tradition...

The boat tour was over way too soon, as we all stepped on the earth again, mentally and physically preparing for the sorting.