We walked along a path that began to climb between hills that were becoming greener and less wild. The landscape was no longer a deep forest, but open terrain, almost as if nature were warning us: "Get ready, the best is yet to come."
Godric led the group with a steady pace, as if the sun had risen just because he asked it to, and perhaps because he saw us nervous (or because he still wanted to make us forget about the tomatoes), he decided to start talking.
"I suppose you're both wondering what you'll find when you get to Hogwarts, right?"
Edwin and I nodded so quickly that our heads almost came off.
"Well," Godric continued, "as we've already told you, Hogwarts isn't just a school. It's a home for those who don't have one and a refuge for those who need to learn to control what they are."
Helga, who was walking right behind him, smiled softly.
"We wanted a place where no child with magic would be rejected, feared, or... persecuted," she added, pausing significantly. My eyes met Edwin's, and he looked down.
"At first, we didn't all agree on how it should be done," Salazar interjected in a neutral tone, his face saying, "I'm telling this diplomatically out of respect for the children present." "But one thing was clear: the world was changing, magic was changing, and young people needed guidance."
Rowena, who had listened quietly, quickened her pace to catch up with us.
"Choosing the location, however... was not a decision we made in the conventional way," she said with a special gleam in her eyes. "It was... thanks to a dream."
"A dream?" I repeated, intrigued.
"More like a vision," she corrected. "I saw a hill covered in fog, facing a dark, deep lake. A grand castle rising toward the stars and the voices of children laughing in its corridors... I felt peace and knew that this would be our home."
"The next morning," added Godric with a laugh, "Rowena woke us up in a flurry, dragged us out of bed, and forced us to walk halfway across the country following her intuition."
"My visions, Godric," she corrected proudly.
"Yeah, whatever you say... Very convenient visions that always made us walk uphill," he joked.
"Oh, don't exaggerate," Rowena replied, crossing her arms. "It was only... eight hills."
"Twelve, if I remember correctly," Helga corrected kindly.
"Thirty-two to be exact," Salazar said grimly, patting his shoulder as if still processing the physical trauma.
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Rowena cleared her throat elegantly, and I don't know about the others.
"The point is," she continued, "when we got to that hill, just as I had seen it, the air was so... different. Magic flowed there naturally, as if the place had been waiting for us."
"That's when we knew Rowena was right," admitted Godric, giving her a friendly little nudge on the shoulder. "Hogwarts had to exist. It had to become a reality."
Helga clasped her hands together, almost excited.
"And since then, every year we've welcomed more children with magic. Some arrive alone, others with families who support them, and others... like you, are guided by destiny."
I felt a slight shiver.
Destiny? It was a big word.
Especially for someone who, just a few days ago, only wanted to get home alive after work.
The road began to rise, and in the distance I could see rocky peaks, and the wind seemed to blow differently, as if preparing for a special presentation.
Rowena added in a soft but meaningful voice.
"Each of us brought something different to Hogwarts. Godric brought courage. Helga brought kindness. Salazar brought ambition and discipline, and I brought knowledge. Those are our four pillars. Together... we built a future for everyone."
Salazar bowed his head.
"It is a future that now belongs to you as well. To those who will come after you and to those who will come once Hogwarts grows."
We both swallowed hard.
"Is it much further?" I whispered, afraid of breaking the magic of the moment.
Rowena smiled.
"Just a few more minutes... and you'll see it with your own eyes."
Godric pointed to the summit we were approaching.
"We're very close, and believe me... you'll never forget the first sight."
My heart began to beat faster. A few more steps and I would see the place that would change my life... oh, and Edwin, of course.
Rowena raised an arm, signaling us to stop.
"Get ready," she said with an almost motherly smile. "Few forget this moment."
Edwin and I took a few steps forward, held our breath, and... there it was.
Hogwarts.
Not the Hogwarts I knew from books, movies, and late-night popcorn marathons... but a newly born Hogwarts, young, imposing, as if the earth itself had created it and was proud to show it to the world.
The castle stood on a rocky hill, with towers that were still growing, some already complete, others surrounded by enchanted wooden scaffolding that moved on its own, lifting and lowering bricks like magical ants. The windows glowed with a warm light coming from inside.
Behind it, the large lake reflected the sky... except for one detail: there were constant circular waves in the water, as if something very large was swimming just below the surface. Edwin looked at me, and I pretended that detail didn't exist so he wouldn't panic. Sorry, Mr. Squid.
The breeze brought us the distant sound of children's laughter... accompanied by the sound of something exploding.
"Was that an... explosion?" whispered Edwin.
"And was that laughter or a scream?" I asked at the same volume.
Godric smiled proudly.
"Probably both. It means the kids are practicing."
Suddenly, a flock of flying papers escaped from a window, zigzagging erratically as if they were fed up with being used and had gone on strike. Rowena snapped her fingers and the scrolls stopped dead in their tracks, formed a neat line, and returned through the window like ashamed students.
"Sometimes wisdom wants to escape," she said with a wink. "That's why you have to know how to guide it back."
Just as I was processing the monumentality of the moment, a sudden PLOP sounded at my feet. I looked down to find a... toad?
Or so it seemed... until it spoke.
"First-timers... I can tell," it said wearily, sounding like a hotel receptionist who had seen too many tourists in one day.
Edwin and I jumped back in unison.
"Did the toad just...?" Edwin stammered.
"I don't want to know," I replied automatically.
Helga picked up the toad as lovingly as if it were a puppy.
"Oh, but it's Alabaster. You should welcome the new students more kindly."
"I am sweet," grumbled the toad. "They're the ones who bring trouble."
Salazar sighed with a mixture of resignation and "I didn't train that toad."
Helga put it in one of her pockets, as if the toad were just a stuffed animal.
"Don't mind him, he had to take care of the little ones last week."
Godric clapped his hands, which echoed as if the hill were a drum.
"Well, young people," he said, looking at Edwin and me, "There it is. Our home, and if you accept it, it will be yours too."
I realized I was smiling like an idiot. I couldn't help it. It was like seeing the gods return from Olympus.
Although I couldn't help feeling a lump in my throat, reality returned to its usual style when a spell shot out from one of the towers, veered off course, and almost hit us.
It whistled past us and exploded in a nearby tree, turning it into... cookies?
Yes. Cookies. Probably butter cookies.
A group of squirrels immediately came down to celebrate, as if Christmas had come early.
Rowena rubbed her temple.
"I told the older ones not to practice spells without supervision..."
Godric, on the other hand, seemed delighted.
"That means they have initiative! Well done!" he said proudly of their magical culinary skills.
Helga shook her head.
"Godric, 'initiative' shouldn't include the risk of turning the forest into a giant dessert."
Salazar muttered.
"If it happens again, I will supervise them myself... with deterrent measures."
I just looked at the castle. It was imposing, glorious, a little dangerous... but real.
The large wooden gate opened with a deep groan that echoed as if the castle itself were clearing its throat to announce our entrance.
The interior was a mixture of majestic and under construction. Imposing columns supported a partially enchanted ceiling, one half showing the starry sky, the other half with scaffolding floating where a couple of students were trying to complete the spell of the firmament... without much success. A fragment of the ceiling crackled, went out like a candle, and fell slowly to the floor.
"It wasn't like this when we left," Rowena muttered with an arched eyebrow.
Helga sighed with a smile, ignoring the magical disaster on the ceiling.
"Well... at least they created a festive atmosphere."
We had barely taken three steps when a group of students of different ages began to peek out from hallways and stairways, as if the smell of novelty had summoned them.
The youngest ones, between five and eight years old, crowded around Edwin and me with wide eyes, as if we were exotic creatures newly discovered in the forest.
"Are you new?"
"Where are you from?"
"Why do you smell so bad?" said a little girl, wrinkling her little nose.
I thought about answering, but instead I chose to smile as if life hadn't hit me with mud, magic, and tomatoes in a single week.
The teenagers, on the other hand, evaluated us as if we were animals at an auction. "Bad posture," "messy hair," "lost gaze"—their eyes seemed to comment on everything without saying a word.
A boy of about seventeen advanced among the others like a king among commoners. Tall, thin, wearing an impeccable dark green tunic with hand-embroidered silver trim—clearly a fan of Salazar—he lifted his chin with mathematical precision and a smile of superiority.
Stopping in front of us, he bowed his head to Salazar, as if greeting a sacred figure, then looked at us as if we were two old spoons in a trunk.
"Professor Slytherin," he said in a tone of almost religious devotion, "I see you have brought some... guests, very... interesting" (Translation: "Did you really bring this?")
Salazar did not respond with words, but his neutral expression invited him to continue.
The boy fixed his eyes on me first.
"I haven't been introduced, but I suppose you'll soon find out who I am. I'll just say that my family has supported the study of magic for generations." He looked at my transformed clothes and smiled with poisonous elegance. "I hope they... fit."
I returned a friendly smile.
"What a relief. I thought there would only be kind people here, but I see you also accept this variety."
Some of the students nearby stifled their giggles. The boy twitched a muscle in his mouth, as if stung by sarcasm.
Then he turned his attention to Edwin and looked him up and down.
"I hope you have what it takes to stay here. Hogwarts isn't for everyone."
Unintentionally (I swear it was unintentional), I spoke in an epically serious tone as I said,
"Don't worry. If Hogwarts accepted us, it will be Hogwarts that has to live up to our standards."
Dramatic silence. Even a torch seemed to sparkle to emphasize it.
Me internally:
"WHY DID I SAY THAT? ALWAYS ME? COULD MY BRAIN BE DAMAGED?"
Godric stifled a proud laugh. Rowena smiled as if she had just seen some interesting literary material. Helga muttered, "Poor thing, he doesn't know who he's messing with," and Salazar... he just raised an eyebrow.
The boy pressed his lips together and, with a slight bow to Salazar, withdrew, his wounded dignity enveloping him like a cloak.
"That's Alistair Thurkell," whispered a nearby teenager. "He thinks he'll be Professor Slytherin's successor when Hogwarts has student leaders."
Great... I haven't even been at Hogwarts for five minutes and I already have an official rival. Can I send him back?