For Myoui Mina, transferring to Hogwarts was certainly… an adjustment.

After all, she’d spent the last ten years of her life at Mahoutokoro— the school was all she’d ever known. She’d grown up there, learned every bit of magic she knew there. But then her father decided to expand his empire, Myoui Brooms, which unfortunately meant moving his family halfway across the globe.

Mina knew her father was just doing what he thought was best for their family, so she didn’t hold any resentment toward him for his decision. It wasn’t as if there was anyone important she was leaving behind in Japan, anyway— sure, she’d had a handful of friends, but at Mahoutokoro, everyone knew who she was. Myoui brooms were essentially the most luxurious brooms money could buy, so the name— her name— held a significant weight (a weight that often felt more like a burden). Mina was always keenly aware that the people she called friends wouldn’t have associated with her had her name been anything different.

At least Hogwarts would be a fresh beginning. It would be like wiping the slate completely clean— a new start.

After all, everything was certainly different at Hogwarts— even the process of arriving at the school was not what she was used to. Instead of riding on the backs of enormous storm petrels as she did at Mahoutokoro, she was faced with a long journey on a hulking steam engine. Her father wanted to deliver her to the castle himself, but Mina had begged him to allow her to ride the train with everyone else. The last thing she wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to herself on her first day.

No, Mina’s plan for her sixth year was to keep her head down and blend in with the crowd— as much as possible, anyway, considering how much she stood out already. Besides the younger students who were obviously first years and had not yet been Sorted, everyone else wore colored ties and other emblems of their House. It would be clear to anyone who saw her that Mina was a transfer student who hadn’t yet been Sorted— she didn’t look young enough to be mistaken for a first year and her coarse, heavy robes were plain black with no sort of distinguishing colors (another adjustment from what she’d been used to at Mahoutokoro).

After carefully weaving through throngs of boisterous students crowding the hallway, Mina managed to find an empty carriage at the back of the train to sit by herself. There, she was able to finally take a deep breath and try to calm the nerves that were beginning to creep in now that her new life at Hogwarts was imminent. However, she didn’t get the opportunity to enjoy the silence for very long before the door slammed open and a trio of students entered the cabin.

“Oh hey, sorry,” one of the girls with a red tie apologized, flashing her a smile, “We didn’t realize this carriage was occupied.”

Mina barely had time to assure the girl it was okay (not wanting to be impolite), when another girl— this one with pink hair that somewhat clashed with the blue of her uniform— exclaimed, “Hey, you must be a transfer student!”

The tallest of the trio elbowed the pink haired girl and gave her a look, but Mina forced herself to wear a guarded smile. Of course blending in wouldn’t be as easy as she’d hoped— in fact, it’d probably be just as impossible here as it was at Mahoutokoro. She was naive to think anything different.

“Sorry,” the girl with the blue tie winced, rubbing the back of her neck. “I didn’t mean to be rude or anything, Hogwarts just doesn’t get a lot of transfers.” She shrugged apologetically. “My name’s Chaeyoung, Son Chaeyoung.” She gestured to the red tied girl, “This is my best friend Kim Dahyun,” then to the girl with the yellow tie, “and my girlfriend, Chou Tzuyu.” Both girls waved politely, and Mina dipped her head in greeting.

There was a pause after Chaeyoung’s introduction, social convention dictating that it was now Mina’s turn to introduce herself. So, this was it. She had no other option— these girls were just trying to be friendly, and Mina didn’t want them to think she was rude. A deep breath to steady herself and then, “I’m Myoui Minari.” Maybe they wouldn’t know—

“Of Myoui Brooms?” Tzuyu immediately asked, and the two other girls’ jaws both visibly unhinged.

Swallowing back her disappointment, Mina nodded slowly, looking down at her feet. She waited for the questions that she knew from experience would inevitably come.

However, the trio must have sensed her discomfort as, without missing a beat, the girl in red— Dahyun— piped up, “My dad is the manager of a used car dealership, so uh, we’re basically the same, right?”

Tzuyu released a little scoff. “Oh please. I don’t know much about Muggle things, but I’ve seen the cars your dad sells and-“

“And what’s wrong with them, huh-“

“-Myoui Brooms are top of the line-“

“-they’re perfectly fine automobiles-“

“-don’t even compare them to your dad’s ty-“

“-TY?!-“

The overlapping argument left Mina a little confused, but grateful at least that they had deliberately veered the focus of the conversation away from her and her father’s company.

Mina could barely keep up with the rapid fire way these girls talked for the rest of the train ride, but they always tried to include her in the conversation and Mina was sure she hadn’t laughed so much in ages. It felt… refreshing. Maybe people at Hogwarts were different— maybe they didn’t care as much about status or wealth or what family you came from.

———

“For Merlin’s sake, Momo, how many times do I have to tell you to slow down! Do you want to choke?!“ Sana whined, hitting her best friend repeatedly on the shoulder.

Momo just continued to shovel food into , ignoring Sana’s voice and the disgusted— yet simultaneously impressed— faces of the Hufflepuffs sitting near them. “Sixth year means six portions!” she insisted through a mouthful of some kind of casserole that Sana couldn’t identify.

Sana just released a long sigh. At this point, she should be accustomed to Momo’s appetite, so she didn’t know why she bothered anymore. “Even after all this time, I still have no idea how you manage to stay in shape,” she grumbled, taking a bite of her own meal before Momo could steal any of it.

Momo just gave her a conspiratorial wink and held up her butter knife, putting on an exaggerated gravelly voice as she growled, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

Sana couldn’t help but smile and leaned into Momo’s side, wrapping herself around the girl’s left arm. She ignored Momo’s half-hearted whines of protest just as always— Momo acted like she hated Sana’s shows of affection, but Sana wasn’t blind to the way Momo would pout if she pulled away too early.

“This is gonna be a good year, Momoring, I can feel it,” Sana declared firmly, eyes scanning the bustling Great Hall.

The first years had already been Sorted, and Sana watched with a smile as the new students at each House table excitedly talked among themselves and with their new Housemates. She remembered her own first day at Hogwarts fondly— she’d been ecstatic when she got Sorted into Hufflepuff, though it wasn’t much of a surprise considering she was the third generation of Minatozakis to do so. She’d talked to a lot of people that day from all four of the Houses, many of which she was still friends with today. Sana’d met Momo for the first time on that day too— but that was a different story. (Momo had always been a different story.)

As her eyes and mind wandered, Sana caught a flash of movement from over her shoulder and turned her head just in time to catch a familiar flash of pink walking by. Her eyes lighting up, she practically dove forward to grab onto the fifth year’s sleeve, tugging the girl back toward the table. “Son Chaeyoung,” the Hufflepuff scolded, “Were you really going to pass by without saying hello to your future in-laws?”

The Ravenclaw groaned and tried to tug her arm away, but Sana’s grip was firm in her determination. “In-laws? Seriously?” Chaeyoung’s eyebrows raised, giving them an incredulous look.

“Don’t think we don’t know you’re the reason why our Tzuyu came back to the dorm late every night at the end of last year,” Momo chuckled, abandoning the plate of food in front of her to join Sana in teasing the younger student.

Chaeyoung’s cheeks turned pink at that comment, and parted as if trying to find a valid excuse to give the two older Hufflepuffs.

Sana just laughed at the girl’s helpless floundering, sharing an amused glance with Momo. Sana tilted her head slightly as if to ask, Should we let her off the hook?

It seemed Momo agreed, as she pushed back from the bench and turned around to sit facing Chaeyoung. “Hey, did you get any good chocolate frog cards on the train?” she asked eagerly, digging into the pocket of her robes to fish out three cards, all of the same person— some wizard named Alberic Grunnion that Sana’d never even heard of. Momo pouted, “I can’t believe I ate three chocolate frogs just to get the same dumb wizard for every single card.”

Chaeyoung’s mouth dropped, “You ate three-“ Sana just shook her head and waved a hand, wordlessly telling Chaeyoung to not ask. Her shock wearing off, the Ravenclaw looked disappointed and shook her head. “Nah, I didn’t get any frogs this time around. We were too busy talking to this new girl to notice when the trolley came by.”

Momo gasped as if that were the worst possible offense, but Sana, her curiosity piqued, asked, “What new girl?”

Chaeyoung turned and pointed to the Ravenclaw table, toward a dark-haired girl sat surrounded by a bunch of her Housemates. From Sana’s observation, they were attempting to talk to her, but the girl didn’t seem to be responding— in fact, she looked uncomfortable. Sana realized she must’ve been Sorted with the first years, though she looked much older than them. Sana admittedly hadn’t been paying much attention to the ceremony itself as she’d been primarily focused on making sure Momo didn’t swallow a chicken bone or something.

“She’s a transfer from Japan. Her name’s Myoui Minari.” Before Momo could so much as open to ask, Chaeyoung nodded, “Yep, that Myoui.”

“Cool,” Momo breathed, bobbing her head in respect. That familiar warmth settled in Sana’s chest as Momo instinctively leaned closer to her to explain, “Myoui brooms are the top luxury brand. Really expensive, but I’ve heard they’re worth every galleon.”

Sana squeezed Momo’s arm to show her appreciation, mentally tucking the information away for the future. Maybe one day Sana could afford to buy Momo one of those fancy Myoui brooms to replace the cheap, old one she always rode around on. Momo insisted that her broom was “lucky” and “had character”, but Sana could tell from the way Momo talked about the newer brooms everyone else on her Quidditch team had that she wished she had a better model, too.

Chaeyoung shrugged, “Well, I don’t know much about brooms, but she seemed nice. Quiet, you know, especially when Tzuyu pointed out the ‘family business’.”

Sana imagined the poor girl must get exhausted, being asked about the company wherever she went— people bothering her for discounts on brooms or trying to be friends with her because they thought it would boost their own status. It must be awful thinking that people only were interested in you due to your family name. At that thought, the Hufflepuff had a sudden burst of empathy for the girl.

“She looks like she could use some real friends,” Sana murmured quietly, not realizing she had voiced her thoughts out loud until she heard Momo humming in agreement next to her.

“Can I please go sit with Dahyun and Tzuyu now?” Chaeyoung asked abruptly, interrupting Sana’s train of thought. The Hufflepuff realized she was still holding firmly onto the pink haired girl’s sleeve, and she allowed her hand to drop. Releasing a huff of relief, Chaeyoung didn’t waste time giving a small wave goodbye before speed-walking away. The fifth year obviously wanted to flee the scene before Sana could grab a hold of her again or Momo could ask her any mortifying questions about Tzuyu.

“You better not break our baby’s heart, Son Chaeyoung!” Momo yelled after her, both of the Hufflepuffs erupting into giggles when they caught sight of Tzuyu further down the table rolling her eyes.

Sana released a dreamy sigh, “Ah, young love!” and draped her full weight against Momo.

The Quidditch player scoffed and bumped her shoulder into Sana. “You’re such a sap,” she grumbled, face wrinkled in mock disgust.

The blonde made exaggerated kissing noises in Momo’s direction, causing her best friend to groan and move away, before her gaze fell on that Ravenclaw sitting alone again. It seemed her Housemates had given up at trying to get the transfer student to talk, so now the girl just seemed utterly alone. Sana was convinced she’d never seen anything more tragic in her entire life.

“Should we go over and say hi?” Momo asked, munching on a dinner roll and seemingly reading Sana’s mind like she always did. (“It’s my Sana sixth sense,” Momo once proudly declared.)

Sana considered the question for a moment before shaking her head. “She’s probably really overwhelmed right now, meeting so many new people. We should just wait ‘til a better opportunity comes about.”

———

Mina had known for a while that she’d have to be sorted into one of the four Hogwarts Houses— Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, she’d learned— but what she hadn’t been warned about was the fact that this process would take place in front of the entire student body.

While the first years were being gathered for the Sorting ceremony, one of the professors gestured for her to join them. Mina had one of those “Who, me?” moments before she reluctantly joined the crowd of eleven year olds, feeling terribly out of place. The Headmaster began calling out names for each student to come up individually, and Mina felt the dread build in her stomach as he got into the ‘M’s.

“Myoui Minari!”

Her name rang out throughout the whole Great Hall, clear as a bell, and Mina felt her heart freeze in her chest. Any chance at her anonymity at this school was officially dead and buried. All she heard as she stepped up to the chair, that weird talking hat placed on her head, was the murmuring of the crowd.

She couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, of course, but she didn’t have to hear them herself. She knew from experience: “Myoui Minari?” “As in that Myoui?” “Of Myoui Brooms?” “Her family’s super rich, right?”

The Sorting Hat ending up placing her into Ravenclaw. Mina didn’t even have the time (or emotional capacity) to process the placement— she just numbly moved to sit down at the designated table, only partially aware of the chattering of her Housemates that surrounded her. Forcing the tears gathering at the edges of her eyes to not spill, Mina took a deep breath and reminded herself that she would get through this, like she always did. She was a Myoui— for whatever that was worth.

The rest of the evening passed by in little more than a blur. Mina barely touched her food, and once again allowed herself to be assimilated into the crowd of first years who were being led to the Ravenclaw common room. The space was admittedly very nice, but Mina wasn’t in the right kind of mindset to appreciate its beauty at the moment. Instead, she climbed the staircase into the girls’ dormitory to the room she’d been told by the prefect would be hers, finding a pretty girl with silver hair unpacking her things from her trunk. The girl had a kind smile, introduced herself as Yoohyeon, and let Mina choose which bed she wanted even though she had obviously been there first.

As Mina laid in bed that evening after unpacking, she stared at the enchanted stars twinkling down at her from the mural on the ceiling. She thought about her family— she’d have to send an owl home to let them know she’d been Sorted into Ravenclaw. Mina listed the House traits to herself: Intelligence. Wit. Wisdom. Creativity. Did she really have those traits? The Sorting Hat placed her there so she must possess them, buried somewhere deep inside. (Though then again, she had her doubts about trusting the opinion of a battered old hat, magic or not.)

Mina sighed and rolled over to her side, allowing her heavy eyelids to fall shut. She had to cling to some small hope that tomorrow and the days that followed would be better— even if they weren’t, she’d try to make the most of her time here. She didn’t know if Hogwarts could ever truly be her home, but what other choice did she have?