„Alex! Alex! Wake up!"

Alex was woken up by his brother's loud voice and the shaking ground. Actually everything was shaking. Wait... this wasn't his bed. Where were they? It took him a few moments to remember everything that had just happened. He was a wizard. He was on his way to a wizarding school and he had just followed a bald guy with large eyebrows into a big chicken. The same guy had also poisoned him with leaf water so that he would fall asleep. Wait, what?

„Am I... am I dreaming?", he asked confused. A big smile spread over James otherwise so serious face.

„No. It's real Alex. Everything is real."

Oh. Yes. It happened. All of it. Alex felt himself grin too. He looked around for Professor Washington but he was nowhere to be seen.

„Where's the Professor?", he shouted alarmed. He was the only one able to control this metal beast. With him gone, the chicken would probably crash into a mountain or something just to annoy Alex.

„Don't worry. He has gone ahead to tell the school that we're coming or something. I'm in charge of the bird for now", James explained in the attempt to calm his little brother though it might not have been the best way. It only made him even more nervous.

„James. How do you even know how to fly this thing?"

The older boy shrugged.

„I have no clue what I'm doing here, Alex. Professor Washington says he likes me and that that should be enough", he said and petted the wall. The shaking stopped immediately.

„Spoiled little asshole", Alex muttered so quietly that his brother couldn't hear him, only the rusty chicken. But still. Even when the bird liked James there was an eighty percent chance that they would crash the next five minutes. His brother couldn't even ride a bike, who the fuck  would put him in charge of a moody chick?

„You know we probably aren't going to survive..."

„Anyway, I didn't wake you up to tell you this", James cut him off.

„But we're going to-"

"Alex, no. I wanted to show you-"

"This thing just hates me! See, we have to-"

"Yeah, well it likes me so if you please could just calm down for a second and..."

"No, we have to get Professor Washington back. How can we contact him? He must have thought of something in case of an emergency."

"God damnit Alexander just take a look at the fucking sunrise!", James shouted and pointed at a big window. That shut his brother up for exactly five seconds.

"How is there a window? A few hours ago there wasn't one, I'm sure!", he discovered.

"Magic. And now. Sunrise", James commanded. Alex sighed but did as he was told and looked out of the magic window. His brother was right, even though he would never admit it, the sunrise was beautiful. They were flying over brown mountains and a coniferous forest. A small city extended at the foothills of the biggest mountain. The sky was all orange and yellow and even a little pinkish. The clouds seemed to shine as the sun crawled over the sky. Suddenly a tremble went through the chicken's body and Alex nose got pressed against the glass.

"Fuck you!", he screamed while James started petting the wall again.

"I don't know what's going on", he said quavering  when the shaking didn't stop. Well, his brother knew what was happening. They were about to crash.

"It's not like I told you but I fucking told you!", he shouted and hammered at the wall. "Come on you rusty chicken! You'll kill us all if you don't stop this shit right now!" 

But of course, the damn bird didn't listen.

"We have to get out of here",  James realized and tried to grab Alex' hand but shortly before he was about to touch it he stopped. "Sorry", he whispered before finally taking it. He pulled his wincing brother up from the couch and dragged him toward the closed exit. He stroked the bird again but it didn't react.

"Please. Please. Please just open your mouth", he begged but of course, chicken didn't listen. Alex glanced back at the window and a plan started forming inside his head.

"I have an idea", he told James and watched the scene for a last time. He spotted a big castle on the top of the mountain he had seen before. It was getting bigger and bigger. You can do this. You have to. Come on Alex, come on! The boy closed his eyes and reached out for the window. For a horrible, long moment nothing happened, then the glass shattered with a loud crackle. Shards everywhere. They drilled into his hands and arms as he tried to shield his face. Wind blew his hair out of his face as he slowly made his way to the broken window.

"What do you think you're doing?", James screamed and grabbed his brothers shirt. Alex froze for a second before he answered.

"There is only one way to survive this. We have to jump!"

He took a blanket he found and started to remove the extant shards from the window frame.

"We're too high, Alexander! We will shatter!"

"No, we won't,  I can catch us. You have to trust me!", Alex countered.

"Okay", James replied slowly, "I trust you but let's wait a little longer until we're a little farer away from this castle..."

"We can't or we'll die! I can do this!"

"No, Alex, you have to wait for the right moment!"

Alex couldn't believe it. His brother didn't trust him, even when he said he did. They were going to die when he didn't listen to him! The time was running out. He had to act now.

"No!", he shouted and jumped.

"Alex! Wait!", he heard his brother calling from far away. 

The ground was getting closer and closer. Do something. Fly or something. You have to save your brother you idiot! But once again he couldn't concentrate. He heard a loud scream. James. Pull yourself together Hamilton! It would be his fault when his brother died. Alex tried to recall everything that was bothering  him right now.

The bigger getting castle, the fact that he would die soon and that a lot of no-majs would see him falling from the sky which made him ignore Professor Washington's warning what made a very bad first impression. Oh, and  he would be responsible for his own brother's dead as well. Suddenly everything stopped. The wind didn't howl in his ears anymore and the mountain wasn't getting closer.

"AAAAHHHHH!", he heard a loud scream and a lashing around person rushed past him. James! He was still falling. In his mind Alex reached out for his brother until he stopped shrieking but now he fell himself again. Slower but still falling. He couldn't hold both of them in the air. Maybe he could let them down...slowly. His head hurt and it got harder to concentrate. Why is it this hot? Alex just wanted to let go for a second and wipe the sweat from his forehead. Concentration, Alexander!

He looked down and searched for an ideal spot to land on but as soon as he thought of something else than to keep him and his brother alive he fell again. Shit! He had to go blind. Alex started trembling and he bit his cheek till it bled. You have to do it. You can't fail. And it almost worked. Almost.

And then the rusty chicken had to ruin everything. It let out a loud screech and flew right past him like a crashing comet which totally threw Alex off balance. James didn't have his luck. The bird that was supposed to like him so much flew directly into him, making Alexander lose control completely. He let go. The courtyard of the castle wasn't this far away anymore, maybe he could survive the landing with a few bone fractures. But what about James? This stupid chicken had hit him pretty hard. He had to save him... somehow. He could tell the different stones in the floor apart now. A few seconds till the impact.

„Ascendio!", a loud voice boomed and Alex stood a few inches over the ground. It was Professor Washington who pointed at him with a small stick. Right next to him stood a friendly looking woman doing exactly the same into James' direction. Both of the boys were to relieved to be alive to wonder how the wizards knew that they were here. Carefully the Professor and the woman let them down. When Alex reached the ground, the wizards were already focusing on something else, not even asking if they were hurt or what had happened.

A metal screech remembered him of the chicken wich was now attacking a tower with it's big claws. When it saw the people in the courtyard though it stopped immediately and rushed at them with a loud scream. It happened so fast that it was hard for Alex to get everything at once. The wizards pointed their sticks which he could now identify as wands at the bird and screamed hexes and jinxes. A loud groan and James stumbled to the ground were he remained. Under all the casted spells the chicken started trembling and squeaking until it crashed to the ground with all life gone in its now dark metal eyes.

As soon as Alex was sure that it couldn't move anymore he spat on the lifeless body before running over to his brother. The witch was already bend over him murmuring strange spells in a language he couldn't understand. Maybe latin?

„Is he alive?", Alex asked worried.

It would be his fault if James died now. He had pushed him to jump too soon.

„Yes. He has nothing that we can't fix, he'll live. A few broken ribs, maybe a concussion", the woman replied. "He needs to rest now."

Alex sighed relieved. The witch shot him a meaningful glance. However, he didn't understand the meaning and just stared back. Why did she look at him like this? Would James not get well after all?  But why didn't she just tell him? It took a shooing hand movement for him to realize that the witch wanted him to go now and leave his brother alone, probably because he needed to rest and shouldn't strain or something like that. However that  would help him when he was unconscious. Professor Washington was kneeling next to the chicken and Alex decided to ask him a few question to clear his head.

"Sir!", he called and sat down right next to him.

"How did this happen?", his teacher asked him. What? How should he know? Did the Professor think that it was his or James fault?

"I don't know", he answered truthfully. "Everything was normal. Well, as normal as things can be when you're flying around in a giant tin can. We were flying over the mountains when all out of sudden the bird started shaking. James couldn't calm him anymore so we wanted to escape though the bark but it didn't open. This is why I destroyed the window and we jumped out. I thought I could slow down the fall but then the chicken..."

"Slow down!", Professor Washington commanded. "It's okay, I know it wasn't your fault but... I think I need a second opinion on this", he explained thoughtfully. "That's not your problem though. Somebody should show you around."

"Sir! It is my problem. This chicken hurt my brother!", Alex protested.

"He's cute", the witch chuckled.

"I'm not cute!"

A small smile hushed over  the Professor's face. 

"Mr Hamilton, may I introduce to you: Professor Martha Washington, my wife and Ilvermorny's  Herbology Professor. Martha, Alexander Hamilton, our newest student", he introduced them to each other. "Oh, and William, one of our Pukwudgies. You can come out now!" As he saw Alex confused face he continued:"He's a little nosy."

Alex had seen a lot of weird things in the last two days but William the Pukwudgie might be the strangest of all.

"Our Pukwudgies? How would you like it if I called you my wizard?", a grumpy voice grumbled. Then a goblin-like creature walked out of the shadows. William had a grey face, large ears and was even smaller than Alex.

"Nosy? Me? You would have called for me anyway so here I am. You want to know why your metal bird went berserk? Well, maybe you should have given him a real name, how about that?", he continued complaining.

"William, did Mr Burr arrive already?", Professor Washington interrupted him. That's when Alex finally realized that he had crashed right into the Ilvermorny school. Lucky me. He didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he had crashed into a No-Maj house.

"Huh? Yes, of course. The boy is always too early", the Pukwudgie answered surprised.

"Good." The Professor pulled a small piece of parchment and a quill out of his cloak and scribbled something down then he tapped it three times with his wand. The parchment folded into a small bird and flew off.

"Search for Mr Burr. He'll show you around and explain you everything", he told Alex. "Follow the letter I wrote to him and you should be able to find him."

"But Sir, I want to help!", the boy protested.

"We'll tell you what we found out. You better hurry up if you want to catch the letter", Professor Washington suggested.

Alex realized that it was impossible to win this fight, still, he had one last question:"What about my brother?"

William let out an annoyed groan and pushed him toward the open door the paper bird flew through.

"You can visit him in the hospital wing!", Professor Martha Washington called after him as he ran after the surprisingly fast letter. He wondered what a kind of Professor this Mr Burr was. The subjects here must be different from the ones he knew. Herbology, that's already weird. Maybe this guy is teaching magic math or wizard since. He laughed at his own joke. But really, what if? What if Mr Burr wasn't a human at all but a Pukwu- Pukwusomething?

The letter took a sharp turn left and Alex almost ran into a wall. A little slower he walked around the corner but the bird had disappeared. In the middle of the stone corridor stood a guy with his back turned towards him so that Alex couldn't see his face. Was this the guy that was supposed to show him around? He sneaked behind him and put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, Sir?"

Mr Burr turned around a lot faster than Alex had expected and pulled out his wand. "Ahhh!", he shrieked. After he realized that he wasn't being attacked and that the guy that scared him only was a tiny sixteen year old he relaxed a little.

"That depends, who's asking", he replied warily. Aaron Burr was neither a professor nor a magical creature but a student  Alexander's age who by the way already felt stupid for calling the boy sir. He was a little taller than Alex with dark skin and very short hair. He wore a blue and cranberry robe that was fastened by a golden ball of cords or something. It looked like a knot.

"Oh sure, I'm Alexander Hamilton. I've been looking for you", Alex said. He was exited to finally find out more about magic.

Aaron Burr raised an eyebrow before answering: "I'm getting nervous!"

But he did get the bird, did he? Maybe he didn't have the time to read it yet.

"As you should have read in the letter Professor Washington wrote to you, you're supposed to show me around and answer my questions. I'm new here, you know,  and have never learned anything about magic before", Alex explained quickly. For a long moment there was silence. Awkward.

"You have never learned anything about magic before?", Aaron Burr repeated in disbelief. Is this very rare here? Of course, Professor Washington said that I shouldn't even be alive but there have to be a few other kids that were left out as well!

"Yes! But I want to change that as soon as possible", Alex said cheerfully.

"You're a squib?", the Ilvermorny student asked slowly.

"No, I'm a wizard. Professor Washington said they forgot me or something. Probably because I'm an orphan and didn't even know my wizard father", Alex suggested but Aaron Burr just shook his head.

"No, no I'm sorry but this can't be possible. I'm an orphan and..."

"YOU'RE AN ORPHAN? I'm an orphan! God, I wished there was a way for us to prove that we're worth more than anyone bargained for!"

Back on Nevis no one had ever taken Alex serious but here he might have a chance to rise up! However Aaron Burr didn't seem to share his excitement. He took out Professor Washington's letter and glanced though it once more before answering.

"Listen... Alexander, right? Let me offer you some free advice. Talk less." 

Wait what? 

"Smile more." 

HA! 

"Don't let them know what you're against or what you're for." 

Alex let out a small snort.

"You can't be serious", he complained. Aaron sighed.

"See, Ilvermorny is the most democratic and less elitist of all wizarding schools but that doesn't mean that every student here is open and friendly. You understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

Alex nodded. Yes, he understood. But what he didn't understand: Why should I shut up? Just because of some magical jerks? I had to deal with a lot of idiots through my life, I'm sure a can handle a few more. Somebody has to tell them what's right after all!

"Okay, I uh, should start with explaining the basics of the wizard society", Aaron started. He told Alex about the MACUSA, why No-Majs shouldn't know that they existed and about the different wizard families.

"I'm a pureblood. That means that both, my mother and my father, come from very old wizard families. You're a halfblood. Only your father was magic while your mother was a No-maj. Then there are No-maj borns with both parents being not magic. Some purebloods think that they are better than other wizards and believe that they should be the only ones being able to get magic education", he explained.

Why didn't my father tell me that he was a wizard? Because he's a dick and left me when I was only ten years old. Alex tried to listen as carefully as possible and to remember everything Aaron told him but this was nearly impossible. None of the boys could tell how long they stood there, in the middle of the floor, talking to each other. For Alex it felt like five minutes meanwhile Burr thought it had taken him hours to explain everything. After they had gone through the basics he told him a shortened story of the founding of Ilvermorny.

"It started with a young witch sailing from Ireland to America because of her aunt she was very afraid of. Her aunt had killed her family and so on. Anyway the witch, Isolt Sayre, started living in the mountains where she saved a Pukwudgie from a fight with a magic beast which meant he was bound to serve her until he had an opportunity to repay his debt. One day they found two small boys in the woods. Their parents were dead so Isolt took them with her, causing the Pukwudgie to disappear because he saw his debt as paid. The boys names were Webster and Chadwick Boot. She also met a No-Maj called James Steward who came in contact with magic and was knocked out so she nursed him. Together they raised the boys and fell in love. Of course they knew of Hogwarts, the great british wizarding school, and wished to start their own. They insisted of having four houses as well and...", Aaron stopped for a moment. Alex was grateful for the break since his head had started hurting from all the new information.

"Wait, I think I should show you something", Burr suggested. "Come with me."

As the both boys walked through the corridors of the school none of them spoke, Aaron being happy to not have to talk for once and Alex being busy studying his surroundings. There were paintings on the wall that moved. Yes, he could even hear some of the portraits whisper as he walked past them.

"Is this the new student?"

"He's very small for a sixteen year old."

"How could anyone forget somebody like him!"

"Yeah, he's pretty cute."

Alex stopped in front of the portrait of a young girl. "Excuse me! I'm not cute!", he complained. The girl's face became as red as her hair.

"Shit", she sweared softly.

"Oh, yes. Our paintings are kind of... living. They hear everything and spread a lot of gossip. Watch out to not talk about secret stuff in the near of them or the whole school will know it the next day", Aaron explained. He gave the girl a slight smile, making her turn even redder.

"Anyway, we have to go now", he excused them.

For a while the girl followed them through other paintings until they got to a big wooden door with carvings of animals on it. One of them Alex could identify as Pukwudgie, another one looked like a panther. Aaron shot him a short smile before opening the heavy door. They stood on a wooden balcony that ran around the entire circular room. The roof was a big glass cupola through which one could see the blue and cloudless sky.

"Where are we?", Alex asked reverently. There was some kind of... magic in the air. It was the same tension he could feel everywhere in the castle just that it was a lot stronger here.

"This", Aaron started, "is the place where we're hosting The Sorting Ceremony."

"Sorting ceremony?", Alex interrupted and bend over the parapet.

"Yes. Look down. Do you see the wooden carving of the snake-like animal there?" Aaron pointed at a big, horned snake with a jewel set into it's forehead. "This is a horned river serpent", he explained. "Isolt met it in the forest and apparently it even talked to her. Of course she named one of the houses after it. This house is supposed to prefer scholars and represents the mind of a witch or wizard. Also it's my house." He pointed at a red and gold badge on his robe that showed the same snake as the carving did.

Then he showed Alex an eagle and called it Thunderbird. "This is the house Chadwick Boot named after his favorite magical beast. It can create storms as it flies and control the weather." Alex snorted. For now he had enough of birds and storms. "When full-grown it can be taller than a man. The Thunderbird House represents the soul and favors adventurers."

The next carving was the one of the panther Alex had seen on the door already. "This is a Wampus, a fast, strong and almost impossible to kill magical creature that Webster named his house after. It represents the body and favors warriors."

The last creature was one Alex already knew. A Pukwudgie. "Most Pukwudgies say the only reason they work here is because James Steward named his house after them. It's known to above all take on healers and to represent a wizard's or witch's heart", Aaron answered.

"What's the deal with this golden circle?", Alex asked and pointed at the symbol that was set into the middle of the stone floor and he had already seen on Aarons robe.

"The golden...? Oh! This is the Gordian Knot", the Horned Serpent student answered. "It's a memory of a golden brooch Isolt took with her when she escaped from her aunt. During The Sorting Ceremony the first years have to stand on the symbol and wait for the carvings to react."

"React?", Alex repeated dumbfounded. Of course, if portraits can speak then why not carvings as well?

"Yes, after this the first years will be lead into another hall where they'll be chosen by their wands. You will have to do this as well since you'll have to start as a first year."

"Wait what? Which year are you in?", Aaron was interrupted by Alex.

"Uh, I just started year six", he replied.

"Aaron, how old are first years?"

It took him a few seconds before he answered.

"Eleven."

"Eleven? Professor Washington wants to put me to eleven year olds?"

"Uh, yes. At least that's what he said in his letter", Aaron said shaky.

"Can I read it?", Alex asked, trying to control the anger in his voice. He wasn't eleven anymore and he sure as hell didn't need to be treaded differently from students the same age as him.

"I'm- I'm not sure if you're supposed to read-"

"Aaron, I have to", Alex cut him off.

"Okay", Aaron gave in, "but don't tell Professor Washington that I gave it to you." He rummaged in the pockets of his robe until he found the piece of parchment the Professor sent him. "Here." He handed it to Alex with an unreadable expression.

Mr Burr,

The young man who is badgering you right now is Mr Alexander Hamilton, a new student from Nevis. Please show him around and tell him about our school. He didn't know about magic until yesterday so take it slow. He'll start as a first year but DON'T tell him or show him this letter otherwise he'll get VERY angry.

Professor Washington

"That's, that's...OKAY, I AM ANGRY! But I'm angry because I didn't know, you understand?", Alex shouted fiercely.

"I get it, you're very angry but you can't change anything about it, so-"

"I'm not angry, Aaron! I'm furious! I'm going to, I'm going to..." Alex tried to think of something to do but nothing mean came him to mind. "I'm going to prove that I can keep up with sixth years!" He wanted to go and search for the Professor but Aaron held him back.

"Wait! Are you sure that you want to speak to him?", he asked alarmed.

"Of course", Alex replied bewildered. Why not? Professor Washington seemed to be a nice guy that would listen to him.

"He is going to kill me", Aaron whined.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to mention you. He won't find out that it was you who told me", Alex promised. "Do you know how to make one of those paper birds?" Aaron nodded quickly.

"Yes, we can't use our phones here because of all the magic so we write letters to stay in touch with each other. They're very easy to make, you just have to take your wand and tap the letter three times", he explained.

"I don't have a wand, maybe you could enchant my letter and send it to the Professor", Alex suggested.

"God, no! I'm sorry but I can't do this. He will notice that the bird is one of mine and I can't have that right now", Aaron answered quickly. Okay, what else could I do? Of course he could always run all the way back to the courtyard he had left the Professor with the chicken but who knew if he was still there and he didn't know the castle well enough to not get lost while searching for him. Alex stared at the carvings of the magical creatures, hoping to see them move when all out of sudden...

"The paintings!", he shouted, causing Aaron to wince. He opened the door and scanned the corridor for the red haired girl they spoke with. She waited for them in a picture of a beautiful cottage, still red in the face.

"Hey! Uh... what's your name?", he asked her, causing her to blush even harder.

"Esme", she squealed. "Nobody has ever asked for my name before."

Why? I wonder for how long her painting hangs here already and how many students passed by. This must be horrible, just like waving through a window without anybody responding. How could anyone live forgotten like this?

"Uh, yeah, anyway. Do you know where Professor Washington is right now?" Esme nodded nervously. "Okay, do you think you could deliver him a message for me?"

"Of course", she replied.

"Great just tell him... tell him that I'm as good as everyone else and that I can go into sixth grade", Alex said. Esme was gone before he could even blink, therefor Aaron stuck his head out of the door.

"You still think this is a good idea?", he asked.

"Yes", came the unsurprising answer.

"I mean, she's a painting. Who knows what she will tell him", Aaron reminded him. Alex wanted to answer but right in this moment Esme arrived.

"What did the Professor say?", he questioned her.

"Oh... um, I don't think he meant to offend you but rather help you...", she started.

"What did he say?", Alex wanted to know eagerly.

"He said that there's no reason to be mad and that it would be the best for you to start in first year since you know literally nothing about magic. This is all."

Okay, Professor Washington was kinda right. Alex knew nothing about the wizarding history or Herbology but he could do magic. Maybe not with a wand but enough that it would be boring for him in first year. Besides he was a fast learner and he was sure that he would be able to get everything important into his brain with a little hard work. This was what he told Esme as well who raced back to the Professor to deliver the message.

"Okay", she panted as she got back.

"He said okay. He says that he has no time for this right now and that talking over a painting is just stupid so he decided to give you time until the winter holidays to organize yourself. When you've gotten your... um... shit together until then you can stay with the sixth years if not you'll be sorted into first. And when you get into any kind of trouble you'll have to learn with the eleven year olds as well", she explained.

Alex felt himself grin. Of course Professor Washington only let this happen because he had better things to do than to argue with a sixteen year old but he still felt trusted. There he had his chance now he just had to be careful not to screw it up.

"Oh, and he said that you can go and get something to eat in the dining hall  if you want. You too, Aaron", Esme finished.

Aaron winced again and whispered something like "he's going to kill me". Alex couldn't understand this guy. Of course, he seemed to be nice and friendly but he never wanted any trouble. He never spoke up, not even when something wrong happened.

"Could you please show me where this dining hall is?", Alex asked him. He hadn't eaten anything for a long time and now he was very hungry.

"Of course", Aaron sighed and led him to the food.

The rest of the day he spent walking through the entire school together with Aaron who showed him around and explained him everything important. They even saw the library. One of the few rooms Alexander felt that it was worth remembering. He was even allowed to visit the hospital wing to see his brother. He looked peaceful sleeping, not as if he would feel any pain so Alex was calmed. Of course Aaron used the opportunity to explain everything about squibs to him.

"Although they can't do magic they can still go to Ilvermorny, something very rare and one of the things that differs us from the other wizarding schools. They may not be wizards or witches but they can learn to fly on a broom, how to care about magical creatures and about wizard history. Most of them go to No-Maj schools although so there is only one class for all Squibs. Nearly all of them decide to live with and as No-Majs but a few start working in Ilvermorny, become Quidditch players or even work for the MACUSA."

"Wait, what's Quidditch?"

That's how the entire day passed and Alex loved every bit of it. He learned so many new things and discovered almost the whole castle. With every hour passed he got more confident about the new student thing. He could do this with a little extra work.

As the shadows got longer Aaron showed him the grounds of Ilvermorny and a tall snakewood tree that apparently had healing leaves. Suddenly everything got dark. For a moment Alex thought that the night had come without him realizing but when he looked up he realized that he stood in the shadow of a big airship that was covering the sun.

"They're arriving", Aaron commented.

"Who's arriving?", Alex asked still looking up at the sky. The ship was painted in the same colors as Aaron's robe. Blue, cranberry and even gold.

"The other students of course."

Then the next zeppelin arrived. It was even bigger than the first one in the same colors but with different motifs.

"Four. There are four airships. One for every direction since most students live too far away to get here on brooms or trains", Aaron explained. Alex nodded. Of course, that made sense.

"What about you? Why did you come this early?", he asked. Even though they had spent the entire day together Alex hadn't learned anything about his companion and maybe even first friend yet.

"Oh, I'm living right down there in Adams, so I can actually walk up here", Aaron answered quickly. It didn't seem like a big deal for Alex to tell somebody where he lived but for his new friend this seemed to be differently. Weird guy.

A big crowd of chatting students came out of the first airship and made it's way toward the two boys. Aaron immediately jumped out of the way but Alex wasn't this fast. The group literally overran him and he fell. Most students didn't even realize that there was somebody laying on the ground and almost walked over him.

"Hey! Guys, wait for a second!", somebody shouted. "Are you hurt?"

Alex looked up into a worried looking, freckled face. He quickly shook his head and gratefully took the hand the boy offered him. Before he could even say thank you he was already gone in the crowd. Dumbfounded Alex stared after him until Aaron tapped his back.

"You know what this means, don't you?", he asked.

"That not everyone in this school is a jerk?", Alex guessed.

"No, not this. The Sorting Ceremony is about to start very soon."

Shit.