Taking Over Me

Chapter 1- Year 1- 1938

I stepped off the train, brushing my sweaty palms against my new school robe. The train whistled and I jumped. A sea of students began parading off the train, jostling me in every direction. I managed to step out of the direct stream that scrambled off the train, but I crashed into someone behind me. I whipped around and was almost blinded by the glare of a large lantern aimed at my face.

A small weasel-like man stared at me and huffed. He lowered the lantern slightly and spots danced across my vision. He huffed again. "Bloody first years."

I tried to apologize, but he stomped off before I could say anything. My time at Hogwarts wasn't off to the best start.

I let myself be pulled into the hoard of students headed for the castle. Many older students were already crowding together and moving through an archway that opened into darkness. The other first years and I froze unsure whether we should follow.

"First years, all first years, right this way."

I looked around and saw the same weasel man from before, swinging his lantern. I cringed, praying he didn't notice me. I moved towards him, following other students that looked as terrified as I did.

When we got within earshot of him, the weasel man spoke. "Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Landon Filch and I am one of the caretakers here. Just because you're new here doesn't mean that I'll be kind to you if I catch one of you varmints damaging school property. Now, let's get going. You don't want to be late to the banquet." He started walking up a large hill.

The other first years scurried to catch up with him. I followed, hoping that he would forget about our encounter. Filch seemed like the kind of man I should avoid.

Our little band of terrified eleven year olds trooped up the hill in a huddle. A few whispered to each other in excited tones and the vibe our group was giving off was tense. Even now I could see friendships forming, adding to the ones that existed before the other students arrived at Hogwarts.

We stopped when Filch led us to a dock with twenty boats tied to posts.

"Right, four people to a boat. When you get to the shore of the lake, get out of the boats, but bloody well wait until I tell you to go to the castle. Would be a shame to lose one of you brats in the dark, again. Which reminds me. Try not to fall into the lake. The nasties that live there'd love to sink their fangs into you lot." He cackled, a wheezing noise that sounded like he was choking.

If it was possible, the other students' faces grew whiter and their eyes bulged. I couldn't tell if Filch was trying to scare us as a joke or if he was serious. Filch gestured to the boats after he clambered into the first one. Everyone scrambled around trying to find their friends.

I didn't know anyone here so I had to share a boat with complete strangers. I ended up sitting next to a tiny girl with mousy brown hair and thin metal glasses. The other person in the boat was a sullen looking boy with dark hair and eyes. He claimed the back row as his own, forcing the other girl and me together into the front row of the boat.

The girl started to say something, but was cut off as the boats sailed away from the docks with a lurch. They floated on the lake following the boat Filch was in. I looked over the surface of the lake and breathed in the night air. The lake was beautiful at night with the moonlight reflecting on the surface next to a reflection of my face. The hanging lights swung from their poles, making yellow shapes dance across the lake's surface.

My black hair hung in a curtain around me as I leaned farther out of the boat. I started to trail my fingers through the water, when the girl leapt across to my side of the seat and grabbed my arm.

"What are you doing?" I asked, shaking her off.

"Didn't you hear what Mr. Filch said? There are monsters in the lake. They could eat your hand, or pull you into the water and drown you or eat you-" she started.

A dark chuckle interrupted her oncoming panic attack. "How daft are you? That old divvy was just trying to scare us. There's nothing dangerous in the lake."

The girl whirled around to face the boy, anger making her nose flare. "And how can you be so sure? I don't see you volunteering to test your theory. How can you possibly prove that there isn't anything dangerous in the lake?"

The boy frowned. He reached over the side of the boat, ignoring the girl's shrieks of protest. Water splashed onto her and me as the boy flicked his hand at us. I wasn't too upset, but the girl looked like she was going to be sick.

The boy laughed and pulled his hand back from the water. "I told you there's nothing in the-" He broke off as a tentacle rose out of the water, slightly higher than our boat. It was at least four feet wide and it was two feet taller than our boat. The slimy feeler waved at us.

The boy looked back wide-eyed at the triumphant girl and me.

"See I told you there was something in the lake." The girl snipped.

I covered my mouth with my hands, trying not to laugh as the boy scoffed in disgust.

The girl turned back to me. "Bet you're glad I stopped you now."

I nodded. "Thanks for that. I'm Marianne, but everyone calls me Mari."

The girl shook my hand. "I'm Augusta Longbottom. Nice to meet you."

The boy snorted.

I faced him. "I don't suppose we get to know your name?"

"Tom, Tom Riddle."

"Nice to meet you Tom," I held out my hand for him to shake. He looked at me like I had suddenly sprouted two heads. I pulled my hand back a few seconds later, awkwardly.

Augusta turned back, probably to shout at him again, when I grabbed her arm. As she turned back, I pointed in front of us. Our boat was pulling out from behind a cliff and we got a really good view of our new school.

It sat atop a hill near the edge. The castle was flooded with golden light that bounced off the lake. From the light, we could see how massive the school really was. It had to be at least ten stories tall and I couldn't tell how wide it was. As we floated forward, I saw a dock with several other boats tied to it. Our boat coasted up to the dock and Augusta, Tom and I clambered out.

Filch checked to make sure that we didn't have any more boats coming, and then led us to the castle entrance. The chattering voices of my fellow first years were louder than before. Excitement fluttered in the air under the nervousness. Filch opened the castle doors and shoved us inside. He stood outside and barked at us to go up the staircase on our left. We all froze when we realized that he wouldn't be leading us. He turned away from us and slammed the castle doors in our faces, closing us in. We found the staircase and trooped up it, unsure of what we'd find.