Not Alone

Dean sent Helios to Neville as soon as he got home, so that Helios could be back by the time he had to leave for St Mungo's. Students could arrive on Thursday or Friday, so Dean decided to go earlier to avoid a crowd.

The whole family ate together that night, most of them happy and chatting, telling Dean to have a great time. His mother, however, looked very anxious and when she laughed it sounded forced and often stopped quickly. He didn't know how to reassure her he would be all right, especially as there were no guarantees in this world anymore.

When he opened his eyes the next morning to the familiar sound of Helios bringing him the newspaper, he sent up a silent prayer that his mother would manage to control herself and not make an emotional scene. He didn't want to leave her in tears.

He checked to make sure he had packed everything he needed, and then put Helios into his cage. Helios glared at him with his large amber eyes, not liking being kept in a cage again after the freedom of being able to fly in and out as he pleased. Dean wondered what facilities there were for students' pets; it didn't say anything about what kinds of pets were allowed on the letter. He worried that maybe he wouldn't be allowed to keep Helios with him at St Mungo's. He'll go into a proper huff with me if I have to send him home!

He decided to worry about it when he got there. He took out his wand, pointed it at the heavy trunk, and said, "Locomotor trunks!" The trunks rose into the air, and followed the direction of his wand. Dean picked up Helios' cage in his other hand and guided the trunk downstairs to the living room, where the whole family was waiting for him to say goodbye. He could tell his mother had been crying, but he tactfully refrained from mentioning it.

Vicky gave him a hug and made him promise to send her more Sleekeazy Hair Potion at first opportunity; he had bought her some two Christmases ago, and she loved the stuff. Aaron gave him a brotherly punch on the arm, but didn't say anything. Mark gave him an envelope full of money, which Dean was expecting. He had learned from long experience that there was no use arguing about it.

He turned to his mother. She gave him a weak smile and wrapped him into a tight hug. She whispered in his ear in a throaty voice. "You be careful, you hear? And write at least once a week."

"I will, Mum, and the Daily Prophet will come to you once a day; I took out a subscription for you."

She patted him on the back and stepped back, keeping her hands on his shoulders, looking at him.

Despite her fear, he could see the pride in her eyes. "My little Dean, off to college on his own."

"Aw Mum, stop it."

Her arms dropped. "I'll be proud of you, whether you like it or not."

His mouth twitched in a smile. "Okay, Mum. I gotta go."

He took some Floo Powder out of his pocket and threw it into the empty fireplace. Instantly, green flames leapt up and obscured the whole fireplace. He carefully levitated his trunk into the fire, secured his grip on Helios' cage, and stepped into the flames.

"St Mungo's!" he yelled. He got one last fleeting glance of his family before he was swept away.

* ~ *

He landed and hastily stepped out of the fire, dragging the trunk after him. He found himself in a very busy reception area. It was crowded with people who had all kinds of problems; obscene growths from transfiguration spells gone wrong; a woman who had dancing flames for hair; a small child whose left leg was swollen to three times its normal size. Several were making strange noises - among the cacophony were owl hoots, the roar of a lion and a shrill whistling he couldn't identify. He could see several witches and wizards in the same green robes he himself had stored in his trunk.

A witch in pale blue robes with the St Mungo's emblem on the chest approached him, carrying a clipboard. "Hello, you're here to start at the college?"

"Yes."

"What's your name?"

"Dean Thomas."

She checked her list, found his name and marked it with a blue coloured quill, the type of which Dean had never seen before.

"All right, you're all checked in."

"Cool. Er, where do I go now?"

She led him to a quieter corridor, and pointed to a stretch of blank, white wall. "Take out your wand, tap the space right there where that finger mark is, and say 'latenscendi'. There will be someone upstairs to direct you further."

With that, she swept away back to the waiting room. Dean regarded the wall suspiciously. As a Hogwarts student, he was used to secret passageways and even hidden entrances, but nothing like this. Glancing around to make sure he was alone, he took out his wand, pressed the tip to the black fingerprint and said: "Latenscendi!"

A large button melted out of the wall. Dean pressed it. A door that was completely invisible slid to the side, revealing a lift. He was stunned; in all his years in the Wizarding world, he had never seen a lift. It didn't fit in with the magic of the world, even if it was invisible.

He stepped inside and the door slid back soundlessly. The room seemed to be waiting. He reached into his pocket and took out the letter he had been sent by the hospital. It said to proceed to the seventh floor. Another look around told Dean there was, as he'd first suspected, no buttons to press. He decided to try speaking out loud. "Er... Level Seven." Instantly, the door opened again, but it wasn't the same corridor.

He stepped out into a large area, which was the centre of a crossroads of corridors that seemed to stretch forever in either direction. It reminded Dean of all hospitals - white and sterile, though without the medicinal smell Muggle hospitals had. St Mungo's had a scent that reminded Dean simultaneously of the greenhouses and Potions classroom at Hogwarts. I hope the dorms aren't like this.

Despite being a day earlier than most students were expected, the whole area was swarming with people. He spotted a booth manned by a harassed looking witch. There was a queue of people twenty feet long and a large sign over her booth that read: "Accommodation." Dean shrugged and got into the queue. He was British, queuing was something he was used to and was good at.

He stood his trunk on its end and set Helios' cage on top of it. The owl was sound asleep with his head under his wing. Dean took the time to look around him. He saw large signs pointing down the corridors, listing which classes were taken there. The North wing was dedicated to Potions, the West to Charms, the South to Herbology and Dark Arts Retaliation, and the East to Transfiguration.

There were lots of other students, new by the look of it; some of them in the black robes Dean recognised from Hogwarts, their faces vaguely familiar. Others were dressed in pale blue robes and some in grass green. All looked as nervous and harassed as Dean felt. He wondered if his own nervousness was as evident.

When he finally reached the front of the queue, the witch running the booth looked no less fraught.

"Name?" she snapped.

"Dean Thomas."

She scanned her list. "Early admission student, Hogwarts, sixth year completed?"

"Yeah, that's me." He tried smiling to put her at her ease, but she wasn't even looking at him, she was riffling through a box full of folders.

"Here you go, the student accommodation floor is Level Six, and you're in the East wing - room 127. Before you head down, I'd advise you to go and see the admissions desk over there."

She pointed diagonally across the square - there was an admissions desk which looked a lot less busy than the accommodation desk.

"Most people are ignoring my advice; they'll pay for it with a long wait later on."

"Thanks, I'll go now."

She managed a real smile beneath her stressed expression. Dean realised she was actually very pretty, her hair was a shade of red that reminded him of his ex-girlfriend Ginny.

"I'm Kaitlyn Close. I teach Healing Charms. I'll look forward to seeing you in classes on Friday."

Dean was halfway across the busy square before he realised who he had been talking to. He stopped, a confused look on his face and glanced back. She looked so different from the only picture he had ever seen of her; now she was twenty years older, a lot more stressed, and a lot less smiley. That's Katie Close... the Gryffindor girl Gary liked...

* ~ *

The admissions desk took his name and room number and handed him a huge, thick parchment envelope. The wizard running it was wearing plain black robes with a high collar. He had hair every bit as dark as the robes and bright blue eyes. There was no one else behind Dean, so he had the time to explain how the whole early admissions idea was going to work.

"In that envelope is a kind of test to gauge how much you know already know. From this we will develop your programme of learning and decide how many years training you will need."

He fixed Dean with a stern look. "Do not cheat. We will know and you'll get kicked out with no second chances. On Friday, you will have an introductory class in each subject. After that, they'll be spaced out. You'll be helping the Healers on the wards a lot of the time, learning by example. When you're ready, you'll be learning by doing."

Dean lifted the flap of the envelope; he saw a thick sheaf of parchment inside, which he supposed was the test, along with a green sheet that was a blank timetable for classes. A low, sleepy hoot from just behind him told him that Helios had finally been disturbed by the noise in the hall. He turned back to the man who was helping him.

"Is there somewhere for owls here?"

"There's an Owlery on the roof, level nine."

"Thanks, Mr....?"

"Professor Freeman. I teach Herbology. Your advisor of studies is Professor Close; she's running the Accommodation desk over there."

"Yes, I've met her." And I'm glad I've got her over you...

It had to be some kind of record to meet a teacher you were sure you wouldn't like before you'd even started classes.

* ~ *

Room 127... Dean found the room about three hundred meters down the east wing corridor, and was surprised to see a name plate as well as a number on the door. Maybe I'll go look for Ernie later...

Dean pushed open the door to his new room, and was surprised to see it was a single. I was sure we'd be sharing rooms, especially since they're recruiting more people this year...

He wasn't going to argue. He lugged his trunk in and hoisted Helios' cage onto the large desk in the corner. The owl looked at Dean sleepily, and seemed to look pointedly at the lock on the door of the cage. "Sorry, this is a hospital. I'll take you up to the Owlery soon."

Dean stepped back and looked around the room. It looked cosy, much better than the sterile environment upstairs. The walls were half wood panelled; the top half was painted a soft cream and the floor had a thick dark blue carpet. A huge four-poster bed occupied the space opposite the door, and a mahogany bedside table stood beside it. The desk Dean had set Helios' cage on was also mahogany, and the chair with it was comfortable. There were also plush cushions strewn around the bed and the floor beside it.

Dean stepped around an old fashioned screen that separated the corner to the right of his bed and found a sink and a large bay window, with more cushions on it. Dean looked out and was startled to see a lush green countryside. He took a step back and one to the left, yet the perspective didn't change. This window doesn't show the view outside...

From around the screen came an indignant hoot and Dean decided he'd better take Helios up to the Owlery before unpacking. He picked up Helios' cage and headed back towards the lift.

The lift wasn't hidden this time. It must just be hidden on the hospital floors. He stepped out the open door directly on to the roof. Helios shot out of the cage the instant it was opened, hooting happily as he flew around the various perches. There was a tall wooden fence surrounding the perimeter of the building's roof, but there was nothing covering the owls' enclosure. The morning was very bright and cloudless, but after a couple of laps around the enclosure, Helios picked out a perch in the shade near the floor and settled down to sleep.

There weren't very many owls up here yet. There were maybe a dozen or so, but there were hundreds of perches. The enclosure must have been the size of the whole entrance hall on the student floor. He saw a flash of white near where Helios had settled and thought immediately of his former classmate Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig, but he knew it couldn't be her. On closer inspection it was a barn owl, which was mostly white from the front anyway.

He stooped down to stroke Helios before he went back downstairs. "I'll come back tonight. You can take a letter to Mum." Helios hooted softly and nibbled his finger before closing his eyes again.

Dean spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking. His uniform and dress robes took up only about a quarter of the huge wardrobe, so he stood his trunk in there too. The shelf above the desk was now loaded with textbooks, ink, parchment and quills. He also found a box of Everlasting Candles in the drawer and stood a few on the desk and the others on the bedside table.

He sat down and wrote a letter to his mum, telling her he was fine and would write to her at the weekend when he'd taken some classes. He sealed it with some wax and a seal that Seamus had had made for him for the previous Christmas with his initials in it.

He stepped out onto the roof into a beautiful evening. The sun was going down, streaking the sky with pinks and lilacs. He heard a fluttering and felt a weight on his shoulder. Dean never saw Helios flying towards him, only felt him landing. It was almost as if the owl always knew when he was coming. "Had a good sleep have you?"

The owl hooted in acknowledgement, and nipped him on the ear. Helios held out his leg for Dean to attach the letter. He had no sooner tied it on than the owl took off, clearly full of energy. Dean laughed to see him swooping around, apparently checking out his new home before heading west towards the setting sun.

He suddenly realised he wasn't alone on the roof. A girl with soft brown hair falling down her back was on his right; the barn owl he had seen earlier on her arm. He gave her a warm smile. "Hi!"

"Hi. Nice owl you have there, it was a tawney right?"

Immediately, Dean liked her accent. It was a cross between his best friend Seamus' and his old Transfiguration teacher's.

"Yeah, his name is Helios. Is that your barn owl?"

"Yup, her name is Faith." The owl regarded Dean stoically. Dean walked over to them, and reached out to stroke the owl on the head. She blinked her large amber eyes at him, but allowed him to pet her.

"That's weird! She normally bites any stranger who tries to pet her." The owl hooted softly and took off - flying in the same direction Helios had left. The girl turned to look at him. In the dying sunlight, he could see she had large hazel eyes.

"I'm Elizabeth McKeown." Dean shook the cool hand she offered him.

"Dean Thomas. What part of Ireland are you from?"

"Northern Ireland, not too far from the border. You're from London right?"

"Yeah, I didn't have to come far. Where did you go to school? I never saw you at Hogwarts."

"I went to Draíochta, in Ireland."

Dean frowned, puzzled. "My best friend from Hogwarts was Irish, why didn't he go there?"

"You can go to any European school you want, if you want to go away from your nearest, you have to apply I think."

"Cool." Dean realised it was getting quite dark, and he hadn't eaten since breakfast. "Where do we go to eat around here?"

* ~ *

They found a dining hall on the eighth floor, and Dean spent a happy hour and a half making his first friend at St Mungo's. Elizabeth, or Beth as she liked to be called, had been in the year above him and was qualified to start regular training.

Not that she was much older than him; her birthday was in May, while Dean's was in November. She was a half blood who loved both worlds; she was very fond of Muggle music and films. She loved Transfiguration, and was studying to become an Animagus. She didn't seem to care that Dean was one of the early admissions, he had worried some of the older students might resent it.

They talked about what the classes were going to be like, and wondered how many other students were like Dean, and how the qualified students would treat them. "Do you know anyone else here?"

"Yeah, there's another Hogwarts student from my year, he was a Hufflepuff though."

"Hufflepuff?"

"Oh yeah, Hogwarts had four houses they Sorted us into. They were kind of like our family; we lived in separate places and we competed for the House Cup and played inter-house Quidditch and stuff."

Beth looked a little shocked. "We didn't have anything like that, it sounds like there was a lot of segregation in your school. Didn't the houses fight?"

Dean felt slightly uncomfortable. "Well, only with Slytherin, because they were prejudiced against anyone who wasn't a 'pure blood'. Plus there's been a rivalry between Slytherin and my house, Gryffindor, for centuries."

"That's not a healthy atmosphere to learn in."

"Hey, we did all right!"

"So, this Hufflepuff boy, you and he get on all right?"

"Yeah, Hufflepuff never had a problem with us... Well, except when Harry got into the Triwizard Tournament."

"Harry Potter? You're friends with Harry Potter?"

Beth had, of course, grown up with the story along with every other child in the Wizarding world. She was shocked to find out that Dean knew him.

"Well, we were never close friends, but he was in my year, and we were dorm mates of course."

"I bet you get pestered for information about him all the time."

She settled back in her chair, playing with her fork. "So, tell me more about your Irish friend."

Dean was pleasantly surprised when Beth changed the subject; she was right, he had been questioned by other students about Harry more times than he could count, yet Beth wanted to know about him, Dean. He felt something warm stir in the pit of his stomach, a feeling he recognised from two years ago... God, I think I like her!

"I guess I should head back." Dean said. "I have to take that test before tomorrow morning. I suppose you don't have to do that?"

"No, what test?"

Dean explained as he walked Beth back downstairs to her room, number 116, not too far from his. Feeling as though there was something squirming in his stomach, Dean forced himself to speak. "So, want to have breakfast with me tomorrow morning?"

Beth smiled. Dean loved how it seemed to bring out the gold flecks in her eyes.

"Yes, thanks!" she answered.

They stood awkwardly for a moment outside her door before she said, "Well, goodnight..."

Dean watched her open the door and step inside. "Yeah... Goodnight..."