This is Magic: Ereri Harry Potter AU! Fanfiction

Chapter 3: Into the Castle

The view of the castle from the train station was simply magnificent. Eren stared at it in wonder, stunned by its beauty. Tall, dark towers rose into the sky like tendrils of smoke and warm yellow light shone through the ornate windows. The warm light seemed to invite the students in, promising safety and happiness inside the black stone walls.

“Come on, we don’t have all day,” Professor Mike yawned. “You don’t need to worry about your bags; we’ll bring them up to the castle for you. First years, head down to the docks! It’s customary for you to ride a boat across the lake the first time you visit Hogwarts.”

Eren snapped out of his reverie just as Mikasa and Armin came bounding out of the train to join him. Like flowing water, the students spilled out of the train. The first years, all short, scrawny, and scared, looked at each other nervously before starting the journey to the docks. Without speaking, the trio agreed that they would be in a boat together. Eren led Armin and Mikasa, striding with confidence. Leading all of the first years was Professor Mike, silently looking ahead and holding his glowing lantern up high.

Finally, they arrived at the shore of the lake. It was shimmering, darkness slowly taking over its waters as the sun fell on the horizon. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin quickly chose a boat at random and climbed in. The brown wood was finely carved and sufficiently clean. Eren perched at the mast of the boat, looking over the water to search for the other side of the lake. From this angle, it was nowhere to be found.

When all of the students were on the boats, the professor signaled everyone to unlatch the rope holding the boats ashore. Mikasa took hold of their boat’s rope and pulled it off the post on the shore with minimal effort. Just like that, they were slicing through waves, gliding closer and closer towards Hogwarts. The trio glanced at each other excitedly.

After a minute or two, Eren settled back into his seat and glanced around at the other boats. Many of the children in the boats were unfamiliar to him, just more faces in a sea of gray. As the brunet scanned the group with little interest, he felt something akin to a piece of ice piercing his skin. Eren swung his head in the direction of the coldness to find the boy from the train station.

“Levi…” Eren thought. The teal-eyed boy met the raven’s silver glare warily. As their staring contest continued, Eren took into account the other boy's features. He didn't have the time to notice before, but the other male was rather handsome. Well, as handsome as a twelve year old can be. His night black hair was styled into an odd kind of undercut, and his skin was almost paper-white. The contrast made him stand out tremendously. The moon, now floating at the top of the sky, illuminated Levi's skin beautifully. His silver gaze was piercing and calculating, making Eren even more nervous than he thought to be possible.

A loud thunk jolted the brunet from his observations as he whipped his head towards the noise.

"Let's go, kids! Out, out of the boats and to the castle," Professor Mike urged, stepping out of his own boat. The first years scrambled to obey his orders.

"I'm so excited," Armin mumbled. "Hogwarts looks just like it did in the books! The architecture is so beautiful, I wonder if they got their influence from the Greco-Roman sculpture work of...." It was around that time in Armin's spiel that Eren decided to stop paying attention. In the short time that he had known the blond, he had learned that it was best to zone out and occasionally nod and at least pretend like you knew what Armin was talking about. Hey, if the tactic worked on his mother, it should definitely work on a kid his own age.

Eren searched the crowd of students walking up the steep dirt path, looking for pale skin and pitch black hair. There! A glimpse of it, just on the left of a rather tall redhead. The brunet stared at Levi intently, although having no substantial reason to. Something, Eren didn't know what, gravitated him towards the mysterious raven with the calculating eyes.

Soon enough, the group was reaching the top of the trail and viewing the intricate stone and wooden doors of the castle. Professor flicked his wrist almost lazily, looking about as excited as a sloth. The towering doors swung outwards, allowing warm light to shine on the first years' faces. They all shuffled forwards, ready to begin the year of magic. Upon first entering the castle, Eren decided not to blame Armin for obsessing over the architecture. He himself was amazed by the stretching archways and sculpted columns that filled the interior of the castle and the hundreds of paintings that hung from the walls that seemed to go on forever. Was it just Eren's imagination, or did that painting just move?

As they traipsed through the corridor, Professor Mike leading as always, the chatter began to dim down and eventually stopped completely. An ominous silence settled over the group as they approached another set of doors. This time, the professor put his lantern down on the cold floor and straightened up, turning fully to address the first years.

"I will be leaving you now. Professor Hanji should be here any minute, so sit tight and don't break anything, alright?" he drawled. Without explaining much else or waiting for a response, he left his lantern on the floor and strolled off down a corridor to the left. The first years watched him leave, disbelief shining in their eyes. But before anyone could speak up, another set of footsteps could be heard coming from the right corridor. They were comparable to an elephant. Or several.

A tall, dark-haired woman strode up to the students, glasses shining mischievously. Eren swallowed, nervousness trickling through his body in the presence of the woman.

"Why hellooooo there, my precious pupils!" the woman sang, throwing her arms up dramatically. "My name is Professor Hanji. Welcome to the Great Hall!! This is where you will eat all of your meals and occasionally attend classes. When you pass these doors, you will be sorted into the house that you will stay in until you graduate from Hogwarts in your 7th year. Questions? None? Good. Well then, let's begin!" With that, Professor Hanji spun and grabbed the door handles, flinging them to the side and effectively opening the doors.

Eren flooded into the Great Hall along with all of the other students, overwhelmed by the new sights. Hundreds of candles floated in midair, lighting the room effortlessly. The brunet tilted his head upwards and gazed at the ceiling. Or, what was supposed to be the ceiling...In it's place were clouds, stars, and the inky black night sky.

"It's bewitched," Armin whispered in Eren's ear. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." Eren nodded, only half listening. Mikasa was quiet as always, but her eyes were widened in amazement. On the floor, four long banquet tables stretched down the hall. Each table was packed with returning Hogwarts students. Their expectant stares trailed on the first years, and Eren involuntarily shivered. He switched his teal gaze to the front of the hall, spotting another table that was perpendicular to the students' tables and housed a bunch of adults who Eren assumed to be the professors. In the middle of the head table, a well-groomed blond man sat with great poise, his blue eyes watching, calculating. The man reminded Eren of Levi.

Just in front of the professors' table lay a plain stool with a rather old, dirty looking hat on top. It had wrinkles upon wrinkles and it was a nasty greenish-brown color. Eren eyed it cautiously not completely aware of what was going on.

"Alright!" Professor Hanji announced rather loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "Let's start the Sorting Ceremony!"