Beginning of First Year

Sana was confused. It had started with running through a brick wall. Why did the British wizards have to do something like that? Was it the first test?

Momo, Mina and her had all held hands as they ran through, Mina’s father trailing behind with two of their trunks. 

They had all squealed when it went dark. Now the train stood before them, as well as a mass of people. Platform 9^3/4. 

“Careful now,” Sana’s father said. “Straight to the bus, no wandering.” 

“You have your wands?” Momo’s dad asked. 

They all nodded. Sana patted her pocket just in case. It was there. 

The troupe walked to the long red and black train. There were more people from Asian than Sana had expected, or at least, than the other students had told her. They all thought the three were going to a place where they’d be the only ones. It didn’t seem like that. From the pieces of conversations she'd heard—or overheard—it was something about the world getting more international. She was just glad there would be others who were new to England here. 

“Okay.” Mina’s father knelt down in front of his daughter. “Time to go.” His smile was small. 

She wrapped her arms around him. 

Sana raised her own to her father. He swooped her into a tight hug. 

“Be careful,” he murmured. “But be nice too.” 

“I will,” she replied, tightening her grip on him. They wouldn’t see each other until winter. “I’ll miss you.” 

“I’ll miss you too,” he gave her a squeeze, “and write to you every week.” When he put her down, his eyes were sparkling. “I want to hear everything about this school.”

Sana could only wrap her arms around his waist. “I’ll tell you everything.”

He had to carry her to the train. She didn’t want to let him go, not caring that the other students would see her. 

“If you find someone alone in a cart, go to them,” Momo’s father said, his daughter also hanging on to his legs. “They’ll want to make friends just as much as you do.”

The three men stepped back, not teary but glassy-eyed. Their daughters were wiping their faces on the sleeves of their cloaks. 

“Get inside, before everything fills up,” Mina’s father called. “Send Madoka tomorrow to tell us your houses!” 

They nodded and, with their arms around each other, turned away. Each door they walked past showed that the seats were all full. Some students were older, others maybe their age. Some looked at them curiously, a couple even sent them encouraging smiles, but there was no room for all three of them anywhere. None of them wanted to split up.

It wasn’t until they got to the last carriage that they saw a girl looking at something in her hands intently. She had dark hair, glasses, and a baggy black t-shirt. Sana didn’t think she was from Japan, but maybe somewhere close to it. She knocked on the window. 

The girl looked up, took in the sight of them, and a bright smile broke out on her face. She stood up and went to open the door. Why she didn’t use her wand, Sana didn’t know. Did she not know how yet?

“Hi, want to sit?” she asked in English. Her accent was already like the people here. “A friend of mine will be coming soon, but we’ll fit!” She stood back, sitting down in the middle on the right. “Take a window seat. I already watched a bunch of them arrive. It’s super cool.” Her smile didn’t fade. 

They sat, Momo and Sana at the windows, Mina beside Momo, Sana beside Dahyun. 

They all knew English. Their parents had been pretty set on sending them to Hogwarts, so they’d learned it growing up, but Sana still felt shy. Would her accent make her sound weird? 

Her expression softened. “Sorry, I’m really excited. I’m Dahyun.” She held out a hand. 

Momo took it and shook. They didn’t bow here. “Momo.”

“Sana.” The girl’s grip was strong. Stronger than she would have expected. She was pretty small. 

“Mina,” their friend said softly. 

“What is that?” Momo asked, pointing at the thing she was holding. It glowed. There were small animals on it, but none Sana had ever seen, and writing. The soft music was fast and happy. 

She looked at them. “A Nintendo.” When they didn’t respond, her brow rose. “You don’t know what it is?” She held it out. “Don’t press too many buttons. I’m in the middle of a battle.” 

Sana took it. It had two parts to it. “Is it,” she tried to find the word, “electic?”

Another smile, still gentle. “Electric? Yes.” Then she nodded to herself. “You play games on it. They look like this.” She dug around in her bag, a dark blue sack with two straps on it. Out of it, she pulled a small, thin black object with a picture on it. 

“Super Mario?” Mina looked puzzled. 

“He’s a,” she trailed off, her eyes going to each of theirs. “You run and jump around in the game.”

“That’s fun?” Sana asked. 

Yet another smile. She had to return it. “Yes. I can show you how it works later. They told me there’s no electricity in Hogwarts, so I won’t be able to charge it,” her brow furrowed, “but we can play. Chaeyoung might do multiplayer with me and then two can play at the same time after us.”

Sana hadn't understood most of what she'd said, but she nodded. 

“So where are you from?” Dahyun closed the device and put it in her bag. “Or did you also live here before?”

“We’re from Japan,” Momo said. 

“Really? And you never even heard about Nintendo or Super Mario?” she asked. “Or even Pokémon? You don't have to like it of course, but it’s famous. Like K-Pop.” A pause. "You don't know that either?"

They all shook their heads. 

She nodded. “I guess those are other things just known by us muggles.” A small giggle. “What a weird word.”

“What is that?” Mina asked. “Muggle.” She frowned. 

“Someone with no magic, apparently,” she shrugged, “they call me a muggleborn?”

So the girl’s parents were not wizards. 

“We say maguru.” 

“Maguru,” she repeated. Her expression turned sad for a second. Sana wanted to ask why, but she brightened before she could. “Sounds better than muggle, that’s for sure.” Then she took her bag up. “Hungry? I’ve got crisps, shortbread, sandwiches, and chocopies.” She emptied it out onto the seat closest to the door. The packets were all colourful, but the sandwiches were in white paper bags. 

Momo leaned forward. “What’s a lay?” 

Dahyun smiled. “It’s a brand. They’re good.” She opened the package with a short pop before holding out to each of them. 

Then the door slid open. “Found friends already?” An even shorter girl appeared, b with energy. “Hi,” she grabbed one of the sandwiches, “I’m Chaeyoung.” There was a wave at each of them before she sat down beside Momo. “There’s a girl from Taiwan, needed a little help finding her way around at King’s Cross. Jihyo’s mom helped her out, so she’s not coming.” 

The three girls make their introductions again. 

“They don’t know Pokémon,” Dahyun said. 

The girl’s mouth fell open. “Really?” 

Momo laughed. “We had other stuff.” 

“Like those flying brooms?” The girl with glasses leaned forward. “Is that fun? Or dangerous?”

“Hard,” Mina said. 

“Fun,” Momo added. 

“Both,” Sana said. 

There was a frown on Dahyun’s face. Was she scared of it? Sana had grown up playing catch and tag up in the air. It was what she imagined biking was like for maguru—muggles.

“They have flying lessons for first years. I want to do it, but,” she pouted, “I’m afraid of heights.”

“Me too,” Momo said. “But not on a broom.”

“So we actually get to fly?” Sana asked. “O–my father says we’re not allowed this year.”

“You’re not allowed on a team,” Chaeyoung said. “Unless you’re some prodigy like Harry Potter, but we’re not him.”

Harry Potter. Of course they’d heard the stories, but it was all far away from them now. It had also been forever ago. More than ten years. 

“What else do you know about Hogwarts?” Momo asked. 

“Ask Dahyun.” Chaeyoung laughed. “Dubu here spent the last weeks reading the books, even past newspapers.” She grabbed the dark blue bag, pulling out a small grey book. “Took notes too.” 

The girl’s cheeks turned pink. “I probably can’t say anything new.” 

“What about the houses?” Sana asked. “I just know that they have colours.” Even though she grew up without magic, maybe not even knowing about this world, she was pretty sure the girl knew more about Hogwarts than they did. 

“And there’s a smart one, brave one, nice one, and mean one,” Momo added. 

“It gets cooler than that,” Dahyun said. She leaned forward, her eyes getting the same look that she’d had when explaining what a Nintendo was. “Gryffindor values bravery, yeah, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be brave in Hufflepuff.” A pause. “And Slytherin isn’t mean. They just say that because Voldemort and his followers were there.”

“What is it then?” Mina asked. 

“Not sure. The important stuff is ambition and resourceful, but they also say leadership and cunning,” she shrugged, “I think that’s weird. 

Chaeyoung piped up then. “Same for Ravenclaw. Wit is the value,” she snorted, “that and smarts.”

“Do you know which house you want to be in?” Dahyun took her notebook back from Chaeyoung. She looked down at it with a soft smile. 

“But you don’t choose it?” Momo frowned. “A hat does.”

“They say people can ask the hat to change its mind,” Chaeyoung said. “Harry Potter did.” 

“Will you choose?” Mina asked her. 

The small girl shook her head. “I’ll be happy with whatever it gives me.”

Then the train started to pull away. Sana saw that their fathers were still at the platform. They saw them and waved energetically. Sana kicked the other two and they all waved back. Then they were gone. She sat back, her eyes burning. 

“Tissue?” The girl with glasses raised a packet. “It’s another brand, but they work fine.” 

Sana and Mina took one. Momo just wiped her eyes on her sleeve. She probably hadn’t heard Dahyun’s offer. 

As she dried her tears, Sana snuck a glance at Dahyun. She was looking out the window, a sudden seriousness on her face.

“Did you already say goodbye to your parents?”

“At home,” she said. “They had an early day today.” Then she took a bite of the chocopie thing, smiling as she chewed. She smiled a lot. 

“You weren’t brought here?” 

She shook her head. “I came with Chaeng. We went to the same school before getting our letters."

Sana couldn’t help but smile. “Me, Mina, and Momoring went to the same school too.” 

The bright smile appeared again. 

“What house do you want to be in?” Sana asked. The others were talking about Harry Potter. She could read about him another time. 

Another shrug. “I think I’ll be put in Slytherin.” She didn’t sound excited. 

“You don’t want to be?”

“It’s not that,” she looked down at her hands, “I always have resources,” she raised the tissue packet, giggling softly, “but—” The words cut off as she frowned. “Most Slytherins are purebloods.” 

It wasn’t hard to figure out what that referred to. Sana was a ‘pureblood’ if she was right, but she didn’t like the sound of it. 

“But if the hat says you fit, then you fit, right?”

“Maybe,” she gave her a small smile, “any of the houses appeal to you?” Then she opened her book, flipping to a page near the beginning. When she handed it to Sana, she saw that the two pages had been divided into four parts, colour-coded. Two were written more neatly than the rest. 

Slytherin: ambition, leadership, resourcefulness, cunning.

Hufflepuff: hardworking, loyal, patience, fair. 

“This one.” She pointed at the yellow one. 

The look in her eyes isn’t excited or sad, but warm. It reminds Sana of her father. She already missed him. 

“It’s a good one,” she said. “But they all are, so we’ll see later.” Then she lifted her head, a gleam in her brown eyes. “Now, we magura need to tell you all about Pokémon. Starting with Squirtle.” She took out her Nintendo. 

“After that Charmander,” Chaeyoung added. “The only starter that matters.” She took out a bunch of cards. The pictures on them didn't move. 

As the train ride went on, those words started to make sense for the three girls. They even got into a debate about which one they liked most. All three 'starters' were cute, but Sana preferred the yellow one that came later. With its red cheeks and long ears, it was by far the cutest. 

______

Dahyun was scared to go up those steps. She didn’t know where she’d belong. She technically didn’t belong here. Her blood wasn’t magical. Not really. 

Everyone was staring at them. Of course they were. This was the focus of the first day. She was being silly. 

Chaeyoung took her hand, giving her a nod. 

"Bailey, Luke." 

A tall boy came forward with light blonde hair. He had a nice smile. 

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The sorting continued. 

“Hirai, Momo.” 

The girl took to the steps. She moved gracefully and confidently. She sat. 

“I’m thinking Ravenclaw,” Chaeyoung whispered. 

“Hufflepuff,” Dahyun responded. 

There was a moment of silence. Momo’s face changed from a smile to a confused frown. 

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat boomed and applause erupted from the red table. 

“We tried.” They’d been trying to guess the houses of the students who got to the chair. They had at least gotten a fourth of them right so far. 

They got a couple of the next ones right. 

“Im, Nayeon.”

A girl with a straight back, but a bright smile walked up. It was a broad and toothy smile. 

“Gryffindor,” Dahyun said. 

Chaeyoung shook her head. “Slytherin.”

The hat didn’t hesitate. “SLYTHERIN!”

“Told you.” She winked. 

Someone brushed their shoulder against Dahyun’s. When she looked, she saw that it was Sana. She was a bit taller than her. Most of the people here were. Except for Chaeyoung. 

“What house do you think I’ll be in?” she asked. 

“Hufflepuff.” The certainty in that surprised her. “But I haven’t been good at guessing.” Her cheeks warmed at her most recent blunder. 

“Not really.” She giggled. “But maybe you get it right this time.” 

“We’ll see.”

If they both got what they wanted, they’d be in the same house. She’d meant what she’d said. She wouldn’t mind going to Slytherin. Not only did she like the colour green and not absolutely hate snakes, but there were traits that appealed to her. When she’d talked with her parents about it, they had said the values that could bring her the most success were in Hufflepuff and Slytherin. She still didn’t know which one she’d choose. She just knew that she wasn't artsy and she wasn't brave. 

“Kim, Dahyun.” 

Sana squeezed her hand. When Dahyun looked back, she was smiling at her. 

When she at on the stool, all eyes were on her. She didn’t like it. 

The hat was set upon her head. It was both coarse and soft against her skin. It blinded her to the hall. 

“You come to a magical school still with dreams of science?” it asked. Its voice was like the brush of fabric, but still distinct enough to make words. 

That couldn’t be so unusual. She’d only recently learned that this world existed. 

“It’s no terrible thing,” said the hat. “To remain with a goal.” A pause. “Are you going to tell me you don’t want to be a Slytherin too?” 

She was reminded of what she’d said on the train. 

“Right, you don’t mind. Do you believe you’ll shed your skin to become a badger? Reach your goals through hard work and nothing else?”

The hat was weird. It didn't explain itself. Did that mean she was meant to be in Slytherin?

“You will see.” The hat hummed, a sound that reverberated through Dahyun’s head. “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Dahyun did not feel relieved as she went down the stairs, but she was glad. The other students greeted her warmly and she smiled at each of them, introducing herself. 

Jihyo soon joined her in Hufflepuff. They hugged. 

Sana was sorted into Slytherin. As she walked to the table, she sent Dahyun a wave. She seemed pleased with whatever the hat had told her. 

Mina was sorted into Slytherin as well. Dahyun had looked to the Gryffindor table then. Momo looked disappointed. No wonder, the two friends she’d come with were not in her house. 

Chaeyoung was sorted into Ravenclaw and had a confused expression on her face. 

Dahyun sat back. She’d at least had one correct guess. She’d been wrong again for two. Sana and herself. It made her wonder, had the Sorting Hat sorted her where she was meant to be? Or just where she’d wanted to go? If the latter was true, what would that mean? That she wasn’t meant to be in Hufflepuff? She couldn’t think like that. As the hat had said, she would see. She wasn’t even eleven yet. Her smile grew. She’d prove she belonged here. 

_______

Author's Note 

Full flashback chapter. I wanted to give a little impression for how it was when no one knew each other yet. Deciding on how to write from an eleven-year-old's point of view was a challenge, because you're in fourth–fifth grade by that time. You might not know a lot about the world, but you still experience things pretty 'normally'. Anyway, I had a huge Pokémon phase at that age, so I needed to pay a small tribute to that and have some oblivious purebloods learning about that for the first time. In my mind, Dahyun and Chaeyoung were, and are, big fans of games like that. 

As for the content, the story is set in the 2010s, so the world is definitely getting a bit more international and because of that, the borders between the magical world and muggle one are being explored a little more. If there was one thing I always wondered about in the original series, it was the fact that muggle technology was barely touched upon. I get why, because that wasn't the focus of the story. However, I want to delve into that aspect some more here. Hopefully it's being integrated logically. 

For the houses that they were sorted in, MisSaMo aren't really aware of the 'baggage' each house carries with it. Dahyun isn't either, really, but she did look into it a lot after finding out she was a witch. On her part, at least, there's a lot of doubt. Do you think she's overcome that by the time she's in sixth year? 

I'm going back into the present next chapter, but expect a few scenes from the past now and then. Saida have a backstory. 

See you next chapter!